Mission: Below Me
by Shooting Jewel
Summary: Heero gets this really weird mission and has to act like a regular high school kid! But when he arrives at the school, guess who he finds there! HR, I'm gradually adding the other GW characters! chapter 13 out
1. A new mission

A new mission  
  
This is not only my first Gundam Wing story, but also my second attempt at a story (my first one being 'Threatened Dancer'). As well, I apologize beforehand if I get anything wrong, I don't really know that much about GW, but I really love it, so at least my heart is in the right place, so I would appreciate a flame-free review.  
  
Heero's finger hovered over the 'enter' key on his laptop. His face was streaked crimson, and he wore a slight frown at the uncomfortable mission he had been assigned.  
  
'Hey, what's up, pal? You're not going on another mission, are you?' Duo's cheerful voice reached Heero's ears, but he ignored it, and, in one decisive movement, pressed 'enter' - meaning he accepted the mission.  
  
'Okay, that's all I need to know. You sitting there with your laptop and that expression on your face. When are you leaving?' As usual, Duo had guessed what Heero was doing.  
  
'None of your business', Heero said more roughly than he had intended to. He felt vulnerable, because he really didn't know how to go about this mysterious new mission. It was the first time he had experienced any problems like this. He usually knew exactly how to start out on the mission. But this time, it was different.  
  
He needed help. As unbelievable as this was, at the moment it was absolutely true, even though he didn't want to admit it to himself. More humiliating, he needed help from the one person he would hate most to ask. Heero was definitely not used to ask for anything- he just took what he wanted. But help was something only available for those who asked politely. So he faced it as bravely as he could, humiliating though it was.  
  
'Duo,' he said, turning slowly around to face Duo, who was looking mildly surprised that he responded at all.  
  
'Help me. I have to act like a real high school kid.'  
  
*****************************  
  
'Some cool mission, if you ask me,' Duo grinned at Heero in a very satisfied way. Heero glared at him. He didn't have to be so smug about it. HE wasn't the one who would have to act like a regular, dumb high school boy with no brains at all.  
  
'Just cool off a little, and it'll come naturally,' added Duo, seeing how mad Heero was looking. Personally, he didn't see what Heero was making all the fuss about. Okay, maybe the mission was a little below him, but heck, at least it was easy.  
  
Heero groaned.  
  
'That's not all. I have to find out about this gundanium which is being kept at the High School for no evident reason. Apparently, there's been an amazing amount of it shipped there over the years.'  
  
At this, Duo looked up, interested and serious.  
  
'Like I said, that is one weird mission, buddy. No killing, blowing up, or anything. Just incognito and detective work. Not really my kind of style.'  
  
Heero narrowed his eyes at him. 'You think I go for it? Well, I don't, but I don't have a choice. I'd better fake up some report cards and identification with a false name.'  
  
With these words, he turned back to his laptop and started typing away at top-speed.  
  
Duo stared at him for a minute, and then grinned with suppressed laughter at the thought of Heero being a normal high school kid: hanging out with his friends, studying for tests, asking girls out on dates. He was definitely not going to make it.  
  
***********************  
  
'So your name is Heero Yinkomoto, have I got that right?'  
  
The secretary of the City High School looked at him suspiciously, as if she suspected him of being a hardened criminal.  
  
'Why are you switching schools in mid-term? It is not customary for us to accept students half way through a term.'  
  
Wow, I hadn't realized that, Heero thought glumly, rolling his eyes. I've only been told about a million times.  
  
Keeping his face expressionless, which was never a problem for him, he patiently but flatly explained to the slow secretary that he had just moved due to urgent problems at the other school.  
  
'I've got the letter here, you can read it if you need proof', he finished his explanation, just wishing to get through this as quickly as possible.  
  
As she read it, her face cleared, and she seemed almost courteous to him as she handed him his books and time-table.  
  
Heero left quickly, but stood outside the office in the hallway for a moment, unsure of what to do next. There were kids running by him, hurrying to their classes, and others sauntering along, laughing and talking to each other. They were all looking as if they knew exactly what they were doing. Most of them even looked as if they were having fun. Having fun, Heero thought, feeling very out of place. That wasn't the kind of thing he wanted to have anything to do with.  
  
He'd been training since he'd been a little kid, and now everything he did was necessary, but he hadn't just had fun for years, and he didn't want to start now.  
  
Frowning, Heero checked his time-table, discovered he had History next, and set off in search of the classroom, feeling that at least now he was doing something.  
  
*********************  
  
Two boys around his age were just bounding into the classroom when he arrived at the door. Keeping his head down, Heero followed them into the room, taking in the students chatting to each other and starting to sit down and take their books out. A few of them noticed him and looked mildly interested at him, but nobody spoke to him as he carefully made his way to the back of the class, hoping not to be noticed too much.  
  
He had just sat down at his desk when he heard a surprised cry:  
  
'Heero!'  
  
**************************  
  
I think I'll stop here, as I have the suspicion that it is extremely dull and won't make it past the first chapter. Oh, okay, and the ending was partly there for cliff-hanger reasons, but not just for that. If you think that it utterly sucks, please review and tell me, and I'll be happy to remove it from your sight A.S.A.P. If you don't - well, review anyway!!!  
  
Shooting Jewel  



	2. You don't know me

You don't know me  
  
Well, I guess the title for this chapter is screwed, too, but I think it'll have to pass. Thanks for everybody who reviewed; as to you who don't like it - well, hard luck, I'm gonna keep writing! Oh, do you people want this from another POV (Relena's or Heero's)? Tell me in your review after you've read this chapter. Oh, by the way, this chapter is kind of sad in a way, cos Heero hurts - a certain person who I'm sure you've already guessed!  
  
Heero jumped up from his desk and spun around, all of his soldier's instincts alert, to see who had called out his name.  
  
When he saw who it was, he thought his heart would stand still. Please don't let this be, he thought frantically.  
  
Before him, her honey-blond hair loose and shining around her shoulders, her big, beautiful eyes even wider than usual in complete surprise and disbelief, and one hand extended in an unfinished gesture as if to catch him by his shoulder, stood Relena Peacecraft herself.  
  
A thousand thoughts raced through Heero's mind, as he narrowed his eyes and resumed the mask of stone on his face. He couldn't let Relena see his confusion and surprise.  
  
He had never imagined he would ever see her again. After they had finally secured peace, Relena had just slipped out of his life, leaving no see-able trace in it. And he had never given her a second thought. It was as if she had suddenly returned from the dead. If there was one thing he hadn't been expecting, it was her.  
  
Yet here she stood, the real person, still gazing seekingly into his dark eyes that were having trouble hiding all the thoughts racing through his mind and his hopelessness in the situation.  
  
Heero wanted to grab her, cover her mouth with his hand so she couldn't say anything more, and drag her from the room, where he would impress on her the importance of her keeping quiet about what she knew about his true identity.  
  
But he couldn't do that; not without attracting attention. And he could hardly blow up the whole classroom, especially if he didn't want to be noticed.  
  
The best he could do was to firmly take her by the elbow and draw her as close to him as he dared. Before she could say a word, he told her in a low steady voice:  
  
'You don't know me, Relena. You don't and you never have, okay? I'll get in trouble if anybody finds out anything about me. I'm Heero Yinkomoto now, and you don't know him.'  
  
He turned away from her as quickly as he could, hoping nobody had either heard him or seen him draw her close. But as abruptly as he had turned, he could still see the confused, scared, and, most of all, hurt look which filled Relena's deep eyes.  
  
With the firm resolution to ignore her, Heero sat back down in the seat at the back that he had chosen, and took out his History book.  
  
He was vaguely aware of Relena slowly turning around and sitting down at her own desk closer to the front of the room. She turned around once and looked at him hopefully, as if he might have some sign to comfort her, but he evaded her glance, which made her hang her head disappointedly. But then she jerked back to attention as the teacher entered the room and slammed the door loudly behind him.  
  
**********************************  
  
Half an hour later, Heero was pretending to read the section of the History book they were supposed to be reading, but inside, his thoughts chased each other through his mind as he tried to get his feelings straight again and think of a solution to the sudden problem.  
  
There isn't supposed to be any problem, Heero thought darkly.  
  
All I have to do is hope that Relena forgets about my past soon and doesn't take any notice of me or say anything about me.  
  
But, strangely, things weren't that simple for him. And, even more strangely, his own feelings seemed to be the cause of that difficulty.  
  
Heero knitted his eyebrows together in fury; fury at himself for feeling something, when there was nothing he should be feeling right now.  
  
His eyes, which he had been willing to look at the page in the History book, strayed away and took one glimpse at the front of the room. One glimpse was all he needed to confuse himself again.  
  
Relena's hair shone up brightly from the mob of other students, and the light from the window playing over the golden in it entranced him for a second, before he had his eyes under control again and jerked his gaze away.  
  
The words on the page blurred before his eyes as his mind spun in disbelief. How could Relena have that effect on him?!  
  
It took all his will-power not to let his inner trouble show on his face, and even so, his hands shook ever so slightly as he turned a page.  
  
Relena. Try as he might, he couldn't get her out of his mind. He hadn't thought of her for ages, and even when the war had been going on and he had protected her, she had always been like a shadowy figure to him; a girl whose actions he couldn't understand, but didn't really influence him a lot.  
  
But now, it was as if she was back, and this time the shadow was gone, and he saw her in the brilliant radiance that she always carried about her.  
  
Heero breathed in deeply, and then set his mind to listening to the teacher so hard that he could block out any further thought about Relena.  
  
***************************  
  
As soon as he emerged from the classroom and stepped into the busy hall, Relena had caught up with him and, grabbing his arm, steered him away to a niche in the hallway, where nobody could see them.  
  
For a second, neither of them spoke. Relena was staring up into his eyes again as if she was hoping to see an answer in them, or a sign of emotion.  
  
Heero struggled harder than ever to make his eyes absolutely expressionless.  
  
'Heero, what are you doing here? With a false name, and everything? What's going on?' she asked frantically, her wide eyes still hanging onto his, as if his glance could save her from drowning in her fears.  
  
Heero couldn't speak for a moment, using all his energy to numb himself of all feeling.  
  
When he didn't respond, she grasped his hand and held it tightly.  
  
'I'm scared, Heero. What is so wrong at this school that you have to be here? Please answer me; I'm so frightened!', she cried out, tears starting to form in her eyes.  
  
Seeing her cry, and feeling her hand in his, was more than he could bear. It sent a fresh wave of complex emotions washing over him, shattering his calm composedness. Pulling away from her roughly, he said harshly:  
  
'Look, you don't know me, so leave me alone!'  
  
The words burst from him even harder than he had meant them to be. Heero saw Relena's crest-fallen face for one instant; then he had already stormed away, his eyes blazing with anger at himself.  
  
**********************  
  
Well, I guess that was it. I honestly feel sorry for Heero in this chapter, he definitely needs help. Hope you do, too (tee-hee).  
  
Thanks to the following people for reviewing:  
  
Mara - yeah, it is kind of a romance story; hope you review again, I appreciate it!  
  
apol - glad somebody thinks so!  
  
finalfantasyfreak - pretty easy to guess, isn't it?  
  
Ironic Paradise - thanks for the review, I love smileys!  
  
kay - hope I brought this out soon enough!  
  
Scythe244 - great that you like reviewing good stories so much, haha!  
  
Ley - well, hope it has a good continuation, too!  
  
Shadow Child - did I satisfy you? hope so!  
  
Shooting Jewel 


	3. Fears

Fears  
  
I seriously hope this chapter won't be as sad as the last one, but I can't promise anything. I am so grateful to you people who have reviewed (and told me this story is presentable). I hope that you'll visit my account again, and maybe even review. Oh, and I'm really sorry for not updating sooner, but I've been NOTHING BUT BUSY for the last week or so. Please no flames!  
  
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'Hey, Relena, what's the matter?'  
  
Soon after Heero had left her, Relena was surrounded by a group of friends and admirers. One of the girls, Mina, who was one of the only 'real' friends Relena had, pushed her way through the little group and stared anxiously into her friend's face.  
  
'Are you alright? You look as if you'd just seen a ghost.'  
  
Relena tried to pull herself together. Whatever the reason was that Heero had to be at her school incognito, couldn't be that bad, or else the other Gundam pilots would be here, too. And Heero was the bravest person she knew; a person who would kill himself in order to destroy as much as possible of the enemy. But she had thought that there was no enemy left to fight!  
  
Forcing a thin smile, that didn't reach her eyes, onto her worried face, Relena assured everybody there that nothing was wrong with her. Even though she was bursting to confide her fears and confusion to someone, she would be strong. Heero had instructed her to keep quiet about him, and that's what she would do.  
  
No, she corrected herself with a pang of misery, Heero didn't tell me to keep quiet about him. He told me to forget him. But how can I, when he's right here?  
  
*****************************  
  
Relena spent the next class in a daze, trying to figure out how to get information from Heero. She really needed to know. And how come he had been so harsh and cold towards her, when she had only been trying to help?  
  
Maybe this messes up his mission, she thought glumly. That's all he cares about. But why have they sent him on a mission anyway? I thought everything was at peace now!  
  
Because Relena was so distracted when she left the classroom for lunch, a guy from her class named Santio, who was one of her most fervent admirers, seized the opportunity and, placing his arm firmly around her waist, walked her to the cafeteria. Normally Relena would have gently but decidedly pushed him away, but today she was so preoccupied with her terrified thoughts that she hardly noticed. Besides, a little part of her felt that she needed some sort of support, and that was what Santio was giving her.  
  
Santio, noticing the earnest expression on her face, decided to cheer her up. Grabbing her around the waist, he lifted her up in the air and swung her around in a circle enthusiastically.  
  
Relena, starting out of her brooding at this sudden movement, couldn't help herself and laughed out loud as she sailed around in his arms. When he placed her on the floor again, she smiled genially up at him, feeling grateful that he had tried to make her happy again. At least someone cares about me, she thought, with a fleeting feeling of loneliness, as she unsuccessfully scanned the sea of faces for Heero's. But Heero wouldn't want to talk to her, anyway, so she felt that she might as well give up.  
  
***************************  
  
Seeing Relena's searching glance, Heero ducked lower and hoped intently that she wouldn't see him. It was a dumb idea coming to the cafeteria, he thought. The whole world is here. But then, wasn't this typical High School kid behaviour?  
  
Heero glanced around quickly, to see what everyone else was doing. A group of boys at a nearby table were doing a competition to see who could eat his fries the fastest. Some girls nearby were watching them disgustedly. He saw some more guys, all trying to flirt with two girls that were obviously very popular. The girls were doing their best to ignore them and talked about magazines as if they weren't there. Another group of girls were huddled in a corner, glancing around at anybody who passed, and shrieking with laughter at whatever they were discussing in secretive whispers. A gang of tough-looking guys were throwing a punch fight near him.  
  
Heero sighed and went back to doing his math homework he had just been assigned. He was careful to put a few mistakes in; he didn't want anybody to know how smart he was, or they would really notice him. He considered getting something to eat, because nobody else was doing homework, but he wasn't hungry.  
  
I'll never get this normal kid thing right, he thought defeatedly. I can't do anything. That guy over there can make Relena laugh even when she's afraid. All I can do is make her cry.  
  
'Hey, you! The new guy!'  
  
Heero spun around; obviously he was meant.  
  
In front of him stood the gang that had been fighting earlier on. They all were looking at him coldly. Heero matched his glare to theirs, but didn't say anything.  
  
The boy that seemed to be the leader of the gang stepped forward and spoke to him accusingly.  
  
'What do you have to do with Relena?'  
  
Heero narrowed his eyes at him, thinking fast. How did this guy know that he knew Relena?  
  
Suddenly he remembered that he had also been in their History class. He had probably seen him talking to her.  
  
'Who wants to know?' Heero asked shortly, tensing his muscles for trouble.  
  
The guy's dark eyes glittered dangerously.  
  
'You don't know who you're talking to, do you? Otherwise you'd show some respect. I'm Tekkan, and I rule around here.'  
  
As Heero glared at him, unimpressed, Tekkan took a step closer to him and asked him again, this time in a low, threatening voice:  
  
'Okay, what's going on between you and Relena? You know her from somewhere, don't you?'  
  
Heero was on full alert. You never knew when guys like this might attack.  
  
'What Relena?' he asked disdainfully.  
  
Tekkan glowered at him and stepped even closer, so he was standing right in front of Heero.  
  
'You'd better think again, buddy. I saw you talking to her. Do I have to beat it out of you?'  
  
The people that were standing close by looked over, clearly interested in this scene. A lot of them were torn as to who was fiercer of the two. Even though Tekkan was the unrivalled boss of the school, this new one looked every inch as menacing as he did. But was he up to a fight with Tekkan, the school's fighting champion?  
  
'Go ahead, if you want to waste your time.' Heero's answer was flat and completely unafraid.  
  
Tekkan grinned evilly. He moved back a few paces, as did the kids around them, to leave the fighters space.  
  
Heero was fighting an inner battle. It was very probable that if they fought now, sooner or later a teacher would find out. And he really didn't want to attract attention. Also, he was sure that he could beat Tekkan, which would ensure him getting noticed by a lot of people. He could just back out and show himself the loser.  
  
But that would ruin his self-esteem. He had never backed out of a fight in his life, and he didn't want to do it now. It would be too demoralizing. And, somehow, he wanted to fight. He wanted to show that he was good at something. He wanted to show Relena.  
  
With this feeling overriding all his logic, Heero placed himself in fighting position and challenged Tekkan:  
  
'Just try to beat anything out of me. I can beat the stuffing out of you, just wait and see!'  
  
*****************************  
  
Oh, bad Heero. He isn't supposed to fight, but oh, well, no stopping it now. For all of you who are waiting impatiently for H/R, I promise you I'll try to put some in soon. Thanks to:  
  
Sailormairz - well, I didn't, hope you like it anyway!  
  
Mara - thanks for reviewing twice, and I'm glad you don't think Heero OOC!  
  
Jupiter's Light - I'm glad you like it!  
  
k - Thanks, I love nice reviews!  
  
Ley - thanks for reviewing twice; I know, you're supposed to feel sorry for him!  
  
Nori-Chan - Yeah, I feel sorry for her, too, but she'll cheer up soon!  



	4. Emotions of a Perfect Soldier

Emotions of the Perfect Soldier  
  
Oh, the excitement mounts. Bad Heero is fighting, very naughty of him. But it can't be helped, otherwise how am I going to get my plot started? *grins evilly* Thank you for all the really nice reviews I am getting (I think most of you are exaggerating; this story is actually really dumb, and I didn't think it would go off well at all), hope to hear more from you!  
  
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Tekkan smirked, the delight of the approaching fight dancing in his eyes. Heero gazed back at him, completely expressionless. He knew he could beat Tekkan easily; it wasn't too likely that this guy had any proper military training whatsoever. However, you could never be too careful.  
  
Both boys took on fighting positions. The crowd that had gathered around them held its breath, waiting for one to make the first move.  
  
Heero's opponent decided to act. Leaping forward, Tekkan brought his fist down on Heero's back - or rather, where Heero's back had been a second ago. But Tekkan was also quick. He spun around and dogged the blow that Heero, who had slipped behind him, had aimed for his shoulder.  
  
Hmmm, he has quick reflexes. Shouldn't be a problem though. I'll just finish him off as soon as he gets tired, Heero thought, while at the same time avoiding Tekkan's next assault, so that the latter almost ended up on the floor, and could barely stop himself with his hands.  
  
There were a few shouts of laughter from the crowd, except for those who were loyal to Tekkan, and yelled encouragements to him, as well as insults at Heero. But he didn't let himself get distracted. Deciding to end the fight before a teacher showed up, he in turn attacked his opponent.  
  
Tekkan was taken by absolute surprise, still recovering from his near accident. Suddenly, he was kicked in the back, punched in the stomach, and then thrown off his feet and onto his front in one swift movement of Heero's.  
  
Even as cheers erupted from the spectators, Heero leaned over Tekkan in a bored way. 'Had enough?' he asked him flatly.  
  
Tekkan squinted up at the new boy unbelievingly. Then, rage darkening his eyes, his fist shot upwards like lightning.  
  
For Heero, it was way too slow. He dropped to the floor, and, before the would-be-fighting-champion could even finish his gesture, Heero had grabbed his head and turned it forcefully onto the floor, so his nose banged loudly against it.  
  
As Tekkan gave a gasp of pain, Heero rose, without even breathing heavily. He eyed the blood which trickled from the cursing boy's nose a little guiltily. He hadn't meant for the fight to go this far, but Tekkan hadn't wanted it any other way.  
  
'Give up, Tekkan. You don't stand a chance against the new guy. He's like your perfect soldier!' one of the boys in the crowd shouted over the din.  
  
The words disgusted Heero. He had always been 'the perfect soldier'. He had no other life. In fact, even someone like Tekkan had more to live for than he did. Tekkan at least had a reputation, even though Heero had probably just damaged it quite a bit.  
  
Feeling as if the fight had just been a waste of his time, Heero turned around to leave, but just before he did, Tekkan, still wiping blood from his face, spoke to him in a quiet but menacing voice:  
  
'You better watch it, new guy. I can make Relena pay for this.'  
  
Heero met his gaze with just as much hatred. 'Then you're even more of a weakling than I thought.' he countered, his eyes never leaving those of his enemy's.  
  
**********************  
  
Relena was still troubled by her thoughts, but she had been trying to let Santio cheer her up.  
  
After all, she thought sadly, he really cares about me, while Heero won't even talk to me.  
  
Suddenly her mind was flooded with memories, memories of Heero. It was like looking at a photo album full of pictures just of Heero, but she not only remembered images. She remembered his voice, the meaningful words he had spoken to her, and the feeling of the few times they had touched.  
  
Because she was recalling every one of these powerful memories, when she first heard the words 'he's like your perfect soldier!', she thought it was her mind, and refused to leave her thoughts.  
  
Suddenly she snapped out of her dreams. Those words had not been produced by her mind, but by a real person! Who could they mean?  
  
Gazing around the cafeteria wildly, she noticed a mob of kids, mostly boys, gathered at the other end of the room around two figures. She couldn't see their faces through the crowd of people, but one was lying on the floor, and the other -  
  
Relena flew up from her seat, nearly knocking Santio flat, and raced across the room, all the time hoping feverishly that nothing was wrong. But when she pushed through the excited mob surrounding the two people, her fears had been confirmed:  
  
A boy, who she was vaguely acquainted with, was lying on the floor, holding his hand up to his bloody face, Heero was standing over him in a victorious fashion, and both of them were glaring daggers at one another.  
  
*****************************  
  
'WHAT is going on here?'  
  
Heero started, alert for trouble, and gazed at the person who had spoken in shock. Relena! Guilt and heavy regret for what he had done washed over him, and he lowered his head so he wouldn't have to meet her eyes.  
  
Well done, he thought angrily. Ten minutes after I tell Relena I can't attract attention to myself, she catches me showing off my fighting skills. For no reason whatsoever!  
  
Meanwhile, Tekkan had glanced up to and seen the intruder. Although he was probably aching like crazy, he immediately struggled to his feet and assumed a heroic and casual poise, hastily wiping at the blood on his face.  
  
'Hey, Relena. Don't worry, your little friend', at this he jerked his thumb in Heero's direction, 'will live. I just bashed him up lightly, and since I was in a kind mood I let him get back at me a little.' Tekkan told her smoothly.  
  
Heero glared at him incredulously, but kept his mouth shut. Maybe he could just disappear... He looked around out of the corner of his eye, and saw that he was totally encircled by the crowd.  
  
Relena looked from Tekkan to Heero with disbelief written on her face. Tekkan grinned superiorly at her, while Heero looked impassively back. Relena was about to say something to him, but he narrowed his eyes at her in warning. She understood, and instead turned to the other boy.  
  
'Well, it seemed more the other way round to me. But that's not the point. Don't you have any self-discipline? Can't you stay out of trouble for longer than a week?' she demanded of him. Tekkan looked at her with injured innocence, as if he had no idea what she was talking about.  
  
Heero kept silent. He knew Relena was saying this to him as well as Tekkan, though for a different reason.  
  
I've failed her, he thought miserably. I've failed her in her beliefs for peace, and now she must think I can't stop fighting, not even if I'm trying not to be noticed.  
  
'Oh, and by the way', Relena added, still staring coldly at Tekkan. 'He's not my friend.'  
  
Heero felt as if he was losing touch with reality, but he forced himself to follow the conversation.  
  
'No?' Tekkan raised his eyebrows inquisitively. 'Then why did he practically throw himself at you in History?'  
  
Heero stared at him murderously. Now that he had put it that way, everybody would think that was what had happened! What could he do to convince them that he didn't know Relena?  
  
But Relena was already speaking, looking calm and composed. 'Tekkan, you must be imagining things. I simply stumbled and he', she nodded her head carelessly at Heero, 'caught me. That was all, and I really don't see what all the fuss is about.'  
  
Heero looked at her, grateful for her speech. It gave a plausible excuse for their actions. But Tekkan still wasn't satisfied.  
  
' Oh, I didn't know that', Tekkan said, smirking visibly. He obviously didn't believe one word she was saying. He added, in an almost threatening tone: 'Of course, if I didn't know any better, I would have said you knew him VERY well; maybe even TOO well for your own good, Relena.'  
  
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Relena's mind raced, searching for an answer that would silence Tekkan once and for all. Her eyes blazed at his hidden threat to her; how dare he try to take possession of her! She threw back her head and let her voice ring with a confidence she did not feel.  
  
'Then you would have been mistaken, Tekkan. Why would I be acquainted with a person who has to beat somebody up in order to get some attention? Until I saw him in History class today, I had never seen him before; and, due to the fact that he has not done anything that I should be particularly grateful for, I do not think that I know him 'very well', as you say.'  
  
With this brief, but impacting speech, Relena swung around and stormed out of the cafeteria. But before she did, she happened to catch a glimpse of Heero - and was startled to see the look on his face. He looked hurt, crestfallen, and wracked with guilt. As Relena fled the room, her mind was racing with disbelief and confusion. She had never seen Heero look this emotional - had he taken her speech seriously?! But if he didn't care about her, and always hid his emotions anyway, why had he looked so devastated just now?  
  
**********************  
  
Heero pushed his way through the people milling about the cafeteria. His only desire was to get out of here as soon as possible. He had to be alone with his heated thoughts.  
  
Finally he made it out onto an almost deserted hallway. Breathing heavily, he leant against the wall and closed his eyes.  
  
HOW COULD SHE HAVE BEEN SO CRUEL???!!! To throw his faults into his face like that! He knew this whole mission had been a bad idea, and it was turning into a nightmare.  
  
He tried desperately to get his feelings under control, but he felt as if his soul had been torn apart and he couldn't just hide it underneath his controlled features. He clenched his fists in agony; the deceitful words she had said pounding in his head until he thought he would explode.  
  
He's not my friend. Why would I be acquainted with a person who has to beat somebody up in order to get some attention?... He has not done anything I should be particularly grateful for.  
  
Part of him was scolding himself for getting so worked up, when she was only doing what he had told her to: pretend she had never laid eyes on him. So WHY did it hurt this much? He had not expected great gratitude for saving her life quite a few times, but a tiny part of him had been thinking that she had accepted this fact and remembered it well. So why would she say he had never done anything for her?  
  
Suddenly, a soft cry reached his ears that made him truly wish he were dead.  
  
' Heero!'  
  
Forcing himself to face reality and open his eyes, Heero found himself staring into Relena's anxious face. Her eyes were round with confusion, and she looked genuinely shocked to see him like this.  
  
Heero stared at her, hating himself for appearing so weak and emotional. He only looked at her, but in his gaze was all the contempt and feeling of having been betrayed by her.  
  
Relena's expression changed to totally apologetic and guilty, but he was past caring. Pushing her roughly aside, he strode off again, feeling that something in him that had been so strong once he had learned that she trusted him had been shattered, and could never be put together again.  
  
************************  
  
Oh, big apologies. I had thought that it would be happier, but Heero isn't cooperating. No problem, there's still the next chapter to come! *winks broadly* The next chapter, of course, will come out faster if I get lots of good reviews! *hint, hint*  
  
Here are all the people who reviewed so faithfully:  
  
Pink Sakura - I don't mind it at all!  
  
Scythe244 - yeah, somebody who reviewed twice so far!  
  
Aerie Angel - he wasn't supposed to be OOC, but I guess he is!  
  
SerenityLNguyen - glad you're reading this then!  
  
Ley - thanks for reviewing twice; I love that!  
  
Mara - I don't believe it, you reviewed three times, thank you so much! Oh, and sorry for not using your idea, but I had that part planned out already!  
  
Meio-Chan - thanks, here is more!  
  
sayinjinj7 - was that enough beating up for you? *grins*  
  
Ey Rieya - I don't know when I'll finish this, but this is one step closer!  
  
fallen phenoix - thanks for the compliments, you flatter me!  
  
Top of Form  
Bottom of Form 


	5. Secrets Veiled and Revealed

Secrets Veiled and Revealed  
  
Uh, don't take the title seriously here, it's just supposed to waken your interest in the story, but I admit, it sounds way off. So, focus on the story instead.  
  
Thanks to my sister *cuty_cat* for editing my last chapter (and this one), and of course to all my reviewers!  
  
*********************  
  
There was an eerie silence about the school, as if it had suddenly been deserted. Heero's footsteps were the only thing heard as he snuck down the hallway, gun at the ready.  
  
The night was really the only time that he could do his investigations without some idiot noticing, he thought grimly. This was not going to be a fun mission.  
  
Heero stopped when he reached the office door. He expertly examined the code system, figured out how to crack it, and typed in the code to enter the office. He went straight to the computer and scanned through the school files. There had to be SOMETHING on the gundanium alloy being kept in the school!  
  
'Ah, here we are', he spoke quietly to himself as he opened a file labelled GUNDANIUM ALLOY: PRIVATE. His eyes first widened in amazement, then narrowed in menace as he studied the information.  
  
'So it's even worse than any of us expected', he said blankly. 'It's not just a storage of gundanium alloy, it's a -'  
  
He was cut off in mid-sentence as his sensitive ears had picked up noise in the hallway outside the office. Immediately, Heero shut down the computer and, opening up the window, slipped without a sound onto the window sill, and closed the window almost fully, but left a little crack. He hoped to discover who was roaming about the school this late at night.  
  
No sooner had he done so, the handle on the office door moved, and a dark figure snuck into the room. Heero couldn't tell who it was, or see the person's face, but it was somebody around his size and age. Probably a student, but what was he doing in the office in the dead of night?  
  
The dark figure switched on the office computer, exactly as Heero had done. It proceeded to look through the school files, less expertly than Heero, but still with practiced skill. The Gundam pilot watched tensely from the window sill as the figure inside the room scanned through various files.  
  
Then, suddenly, he heard an infuriated shout from inside the room, and knew in an instant who the voice belonged to.  
  
'WHO THE HELL IS DOING THIS?!'  
  
Heero immediately opened the window and jumped lightly off the window sill and into the office room. The figure spun around, and Heero could see that his estimate was correct. The maddened but surprised face of Wufei Chang was before him.  
  
********************************  
  
A few minutes later, Wufei had calmed down, and both boys had discovered that they were on the same mission once again: to find out what the great amount of gundanium alloy was doing at an ordinary high school.  
  
'Why couldn't I have been given your mission?' Heero asked Wufei sullenly. 'Instead of having to go through the great pretence of being a school kid, you just investigate at night. How come I have to do both?'  
  
'Why? Aren't you enjoying it?' Wufei asked sarcastically. The other pilot just looked at him with disdain.  
  
'Enough of this. We need to find out where this 'gundanium alloy' of theirs is being kept.' Wufei went on.  
  
'It's no use looking in the file. There's no hint about a location in it.' Heero informed him, as Wufei had reached for the computer again.  
  
'Then we'll have to search the school. I won't rest until this thing is found!' Wufei's eyes flashed dangerously.  
  
'Look at reason. There is no way they would put a thing like this in a place anybody besides them go to, and it's too big to fit in the normal rooms anyway. There's probably a secret room that doesn't show up on the blueprint of the school somewhere, and we won't find it by walking around the school.' Heero stated.  
  
Wufei paced the floor, enraged again. He stopped in front of Heero and glared at his invisible enemy.  
  
'I want to fight', he told him blandly. 'I want to see this enemy and be able to shoot him down! I can't stand this sneaking around and investigating!'  
  
'You think it's any different for me?' said Heero shortly. 'But if we can' destroy our enemy's weapon, we must create our own.'  
  
Wufei glowered. 'The sooner, the better.' he stated. 'You counsel Professor J on the matter. I will continue to seek out any hints as to where they have stationed it. We can meet again here tomorrow night.' The Gundam pilot turned to go, but stopped to ask: 'By the way, are any of the other pilots aware of this?'  
  
'Duo knows my mission, but isn't onto it himself. I have no idea where the others are.' He glanced at Wufei pointedly. 'I would have preferred to fight this out on my own, but now that you're involved anyway, it might be sensible to warn the rest of them.' he concluded.  
  
'We can decide that later. Right now, the most important thing is for you to report what we have found to Professor J, and counsel him on our need of weapons.' said Wufei and slipped out of the room as noiselessly as he had entered.  
  
Heero frowned, victim to mixed emotions. Even though it might prove very handy to have Wufei around, he yearned for solitude. After just being smarted so painfully by Relena, he did not welcome company very readily.  
  
He remembered suddenly that he had forgotten to inform Wufei that Relena Peacecraft was going to this school. But then, what was the use? A guy like Wufei would not think a girl was of much importance to anything, and he himself did not want to think about Relena, or he would just find himself with agonizing emotions again.  
  
********************  
  
Relena Peacecraft entered the school, looking around for any signs of Heero, but in vain. She had to talk to him, no matter how much he had stressed the fact that she shouldn't communicate with him. That horrible look of having been betrayed and wounded on his face when she had last seen him had haunted her all night, and she had to tell him she had not meant a word of what she had said in the cafeteria!  
  
Ignoring the crowd of admirers and so-called friends that was beginning to form around her, Relena continued to search frantically for Heero, knowing that just to see him again would help to relieve her of her guilty conscience.  
  
She started when a pair of arms encircled her waist, but then sighed wearily as she recognized whose they were.  
  
'Santio, please leave me alone for a while. I'm very busy.' she told the boy, trying to unsuccessfully to slip out of his embrace.  
  
Santio's wide, round eyes reproached her, looking hurt. 'Relena, I thought I was your friend. Friends don't just push each other away.' he accused her, while at the same time stroking her honey-coloured hair, which hung freely down her back as she had been to worried to put it up, in a soothing manner.  
  
To Relena, the gesture was anything but soothing. It irritated her, as did his over-protective embrace. Even though Santio was what she could regard as a friend, there was simply no call for this behaviour. She was suddenly reminded of what had happened the day before, when she had taken his hand and he had jerked away. Had he felt the same annoyance as she felt now? Tears welled up in her eyes at the thought of it, but she blinked them down bravely.  
  
'I don't think my being your friend includes this!' she argued hotly, still trying to push him away.  
  
Anger flashed up in Santio's mild eyes, only for a second, but its intensity was enough to frighten Relena. He looked as though he was able to do anything to her, and she was caught in his now anything but tender embrace.  
  
Now fighting in earnest to get free, she felt repulsion shivering through her body when Santio, locking her securely in his grip, lowered his face so close to hers that she could feel his breath on her face. And she couldn't get away - he had her imprisoned - his eyes looked positively murderous - her frightened mind couldn't think properly -  
  
Then, in one burst of disgust and fear, she called out desperately: 'Heero!'  
  
*********************  
  
Heero froze at hearing the familiar cry. Relena - was she in trouble? But how could she? Relena, who always kept her head and found a solution; how could she be in trouble?  
  
Either way, he had to find out. But he was afraid that he would show his emotions again. He had done it once in her presence already, and he was not planning on letting it happen again.  
  
While he was torn between seeing what was the matter or not, dreadful images of what could be happening to her at this very moment floated around in his head. He knew he had to go after her, for if anything at all would harm her in any way, he would -  
  
Heero shook his head hastily, trying to rid himself of these thoughts. He didn't want to imagine what the end of his thought would have been. He had no right to think about her, especially in this way.  
  
Pushing his way roughly past a group of students, he raced along a hallway to where the cry had come from.  
  
When he sped around the corner, he stopped abruptly, feeling the blood rushing to his face. Relena was in no need of help; that was obvious. Wrapped in the arms of another boy - the one who had made her laugh yesterday in the cafeteria, Heero noted bitterly - and seeming to lean against his chest, Relena looked far from being in trouble.  
  
Cursing himself silently for being such a fool, Heero hoped to slip away unnoticed, when a sudden movement from the girl caught his attention.  
  
Relena was struggling! Her arms had been temporarily pinned to her sides by Santio's crushing grip, but now her right arm shot out, and tried feebly to push away from the boy.  
  
Battle shone in Heero's eyes, and the searing loathing he felt for Santio wiped all rational thought from his head. In a second, he had knocked Santio with such force that the boy flew across the hallway before hitting the wall with a dull thud, and grabbed the freed Relena in his arms in a protective gesture.  
  
'You scum', he snarled in ultimate rage. 'You dared hurt her! I'll kill you!'  
  
*******************************  
  
Relena felt as in a dream. Heero was holding her; finally, she was safe, as safe as she had not felt in her life since her father died. She could feel his strong arms around her, but the contrast between his embrace and Santio's was as great as that between heaven and hell. At first, Santio's had been over-protective and sickly-sweet, then, it had been crushing, imprisoning. But Heero's was indescribably gentle, and yet so strong that she could feel comfort flowing from him into her. And it was such inconceivable happiness, to be held by Heero at last! THIS, she realized, IS WHAT I HAVE WANTED EVER SINCE I MET HIM.  
  
Then Heero's contemptuous words pulled her out of her dream. She turned her face sharply to look straight at him. The angry fire that burned in his eyes told her that he truly meant what he said. How can he be this mad because of what some guy did to me? I thought he didn't care about me at all!  
  
Slowly, the fire in Heero's eyes burned out, leaving only a tiny flame alight in them. He turned his head to look at her in surprise, as if noticing only now that he was holding her in his arms. Relena could feel his fingers slipping away from her waist. But, somehow she couldn't let that happen.  
  
'Wait, Heero. Don't run away again', she begged him softly, and then, feeling that he might still leave, threw her arms around his neck, to stop him.  
  
Heero's dark eyes widened in uncertainty and astonishment. 'Why should I stay?' he asked her gravely, his eyes never leaving hers.  
  
'Because I need to tell you that I didn't mean a word I said yesterday to Tekkan. I was just trying to convince him. I know that you don't fight for attention, but for justice, and I owe you too much to ever hope to repay you. You didn't only save my life, you saved ME. I was dying inside; and only you could keep me alive. And I am your friend -' she ended in a whisper as she tried to keep from crying. 'I just thought you didn't want me to be your friend.'  
  
Heero gazed at her wide-eyed, and his features softened in deep gratitude. 'Relena. Thank you for what you said, but you do me too much credit. You stayed alive because of your own courageous strength; I had nothing to do with it.' he told her in a gentle voice.  
  
Tears were coursing down Relena's cheeks; from what, she could not have said. Relief, gratitude, or the unexplainable happiness that had engulfed her the moment Heero had taken her into his arms.  
  
Her breath stopped short when she felt Heero's warm hand leave her side; the loss seemed to hurt her physically. But then she could feel his fingers, tentative and reverent, wiping the hot tears off her face.  
  
A sudden, inexplicable desire washed over Relena, and she wanted so much to reach out to his face and - she did not let herself finish the thought in her head. But her mind did not control her actions.  
  
She found her hands pulling his head down to hers, and raised her face so she was staring into his eyes, that seemed more vibrant than she had ever seen them, with an entirely new emotion expressed in them.  
  
Their lips were so close now, that Heero could do nothing else but touch his to hers.  
  
A warm fountain of feelings gushed through Relena, she felt as if she was being lifted off the earth and into the skies, where the only emotion that existed was joy and - she thought it before she could stop herself - love.  
  
'Well, would you look at that. Who would've ever expected it. Don't the two of them look sweet together?' A voice interrupted her blissful feelings.  
  
***********************  
  
Finally! I was wondering how soon I'd get the chance to put some real H/R into it! Whew! For those of you who thought it was too long or sappy, well - that's the kind of person I am. Romantic and sappy. Now you know. Uh, well - *hurriedly changes the subject to the weather and then disappears from view*  
  
These are all the good people who bothered to mention something about the story:  
  
Mara - thanks for leaving such long, interesting reviews; and even though I know this chapter will definitely not meet your expectations, hopefully you'll review again!  
  
Lady Saturn - well, it went a bit downhill there, hope you don't lose faith in it altogether!  
  
apol - yup, poor Heero is feeling something (took him long enough!)  
  
Pink Sakura - definitely, I believe in totally happy endings!  
  
Bunny - this was anything but soon, sorry about that! I don't believe you really cried, you're just making that up, right?  
  
Ellona Hylaeon - I agree, he's being tortured; I'll stop that soon!  
  
Christine aka Pink Cloud - yeah, someone who likes my boring details! Thanks!  
  
Reiku-chan - sorry you had to wait so long!  
  
Meio-chan - *sigh* I know, I'm the meanest author on earth *cackles evilly before promising to reform*  
  
Sonydjsnmix - I'll try to.  
  
EyRieya - Uh, this chapter is short, came out late, and is totally stupid to top it off! Sorry if I disappointed you!  
  
cuty_cat - thanks for reviewing twice, oh honourable editor! *j/k*  
  
Celestial Prodigy - You're kidding, right? As if I could ever write as well as you do!  
  
That was all - *gets out her tissue and sniffs audibly* - but hope there'll be lots more for this one (even though they'll probably all be flames)!  
  
Shooting Jewel  
Bottom of Form 


	6. An unexpected reunion

An unexpected reunion  
  
Oh, I love getting reviews! Glad nobody was grossed out by the sappy bit in the last chapter. I had a really hard time deciding who the person was who interrupted him, but I finally made a decision. It was. Wait and see! Btw, I've got a major writer's block, so nothing highly exciting is going to happen in this chapter.  
  
*****************************************  
  
As both Heero and Relena whipped their heads around in shock, they saw two very familiar figures.  
  
Duo was grinning from ear to ear, and looked as though he definitely had in mind to remind Heero of this any time he wanted to embarrass him in future.  
  
Quatre was smiling happily, and even though there was an air of surprise about him, he obviously was not at all taken aback at his discovery.  
  
Hastily, Heero let go of Relena, though he felt the pain of loss striking through him when he did.  
  
'What', he demanded flatly, 'are you two doing here?'  
  
Duo had an answer ready. 'Well, officially, we have to check out the you-know-what that's being kept in this school. Unofficially, we're here to tease you to death and see if we can't liven things up here a little. Relena! Great to see you again, though we seem to have burst in on an untimely moment.' Duo smirked with satisfaction.  
  
To prevent fighting, Quatre quickly put in: 'We tried to contact Trowa, too, but we couldn't find a trace of him. Do you know where he might be, Heero?'  
  
Wordlessly, Heero shook his head. He was still trying to figure out how he, of all people, could have been caught in a situation like that! What was worse, he had somehow dragged Relena into it. Why on earth had he kissed her?! It had been as if her eyes had been begging him to. But surely that couldn't be right. He was positive that Relena had just wanted to be nice to him to apologise for what she had said to Tekkan earlier. She wouldn't want him to do an undisciplined thing like kiss her.  
  
Because he was so caught up in his own regretting thoughts, Heero hardly realized that Relena was speaking.  
  
'What is the you-know-what that's being kept at the school?' she asked, her eyes wide in apprehension.  
  
'Nothing for you to worry about', Duo answered cheerfully. But Heero could see worry and a sure determination behind the careless mask he put on for the girl.  
  
Relena narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Before she could say anything more, though, Quatre diverted everybody's attention by gasping: 'Look!' and pointing at the floor behind Heero.  
  
The Gundam pilot looked, and cringed inside. It was the limp figure of Santio, still knocked out from the force with which he had hit the wall when Heero had shoved him away from Relena.  
  
'Man, what happened to him?' Duo came closer to Santio and kneeled down beside him.  
  
'It's a long story, and you don't want to hear it', Heero replied hastily, not wanting anybody to know the embarrassing thing that had happened. If Duo got wind of this one, he would have to listen to it for the rest of his life.  
  
Luckily for him, Relena explained it in an acceptable way to the two boys.  
  
'Santio -that's him on the floor- was threatening me, so I called for Heero, and he came and, well, rescued me.' She was looking a bit uncomfortable herself.  
  
Quatre shot a swift, understanding smile at her, and then turned to Heero.  
  
'It's wonderful that you could rescue Relena in time, but might I suggest that next time you don't knock your adversaries out quite so effectively? I doubt that guy will come round by the time classes start, and then what?'  
  
Heero shrugged disdainfully. 'Are you two going to class?' he asked instead.  
  
Grinning excitedly, Duo nodded. 'We've introduced ourselves as magazine journalists who want to find out more about the local education. They've given us all sorts of privileges once I made clear to them what terrible things I could write about their school if they didn't.'  
  
'Like what?'  
  
'Well, for one thing, we can go to any classes we like, leave whenever we feel like it, snoop about the school and try the cafeteria food for free.' Duo smiled, immensely pleased with himself.  
  
'I suppose the last one is the only one you're interested in', Heero said unemotionally.  
  
Quatre interrupted Duo's verbal assault on Heero by exclaiming suddenly: 'Santio's coming round. Let's get out of here before he accuses us openly.'  
  
Silently, the other Gundam pilots agreed, and slipped away. Relena, not wanting to be alone with the stirring Santio, hurried off to her first class, feeling gratified for Duo and Quatre's presence, but wishing they could have turned up ten minutes later.  
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  
  
Duo watched Heero with interest. They were both in the same classroom, because Duo had insisted on playing up his reporter role and was pretending to take notes on the education standard of Grade 10 math at this school.  
  
Heero had argued a bit, pointing out that it would look suspicious if he was always seen with the 'journalist', but finally had agreed.  
  
Now, Duo was trying to figure out what had made Heero kiss Relena. Obviously, he liked her; Duo had figured that out soon enough. But for Heero to openly show his emotions - to a girl, at that - was VERY strange. He would have to investigate a little.  
  
At the moment, Heero was doing a good job of ignoring him totally. So typical of him, Duo thought. Just because he was embarrassed. Well, he could do nothing once the Unstoppable Duo set him up - preferably with Relena.  
  
***********************************  
  
Meanwhile, Tekkan was looking closely at the boy who had introduced himself as a journalist-reporter for a magazine of education. There was something oddly familiar about him, though he couldn't think where he could have seen this Quatre.  
  
The blond-haired boy turned, saw Tekkan, and gazed at him in puzzled amazement. Then he hastily took a seat at the back of the classroom, and bent over his notes.  
  
Tekkan frowned. If Quatre had recognized him, and he felt that he had seen him before, too, the only logical conclusion was that they had, in fact, met before. But Tekkan could not think where or when.  
  
Then he shrugged. So what? He had other things to think about. Such as how to get that show-off Heero Yinkomoto to the ground. Such as how to pay Relena back for what she had told him in the cafeteria.  
  
And he had one way of doing that.  
  
************************  
  
Relena hurried through the corridors of the school, hoping against hope that she wouldn't bump into Santio. She couldn't imagine what had made her once trusted friend and admirer act like that, but whatever the cause was, it scared her. If Heero hadn't come in time.  
  
Shaking the clammy feeling of fear from her, she threaded her way through a large group of students and entered the cafeteria. Tekkan was just leaving, and smirked unpleasantly at her as he brushed by her, making her shudder with contempt. She was relieved to see Duo and Quatre already sitting at a table, and waving her over.  
  
Relena sighed disappointedly. There was no sign of Heero anywhere. Maybe the other Gundam pilots knew where he was.  
  
But when she had greeted Duo and Quatre, and anxiously inquired Heero's whereabouts, they both shrugged their shoulders.  
  
'I was in class with him, but he disappeared right after the bell rang. Beats me where he went, but you don't have to worry about him. Heero stays out of trouble', Duo informed her cheerfully.  
  
Relena was still not convinced, but she sat down at the table anyway.  
  
'So what is the you-know-what hidden in the school?' she asked again.  
  
Quatre answered her in a gentle voice. 'Relena, we realize that you want everybody to be safe, and that you have a right to know what's going on. However, this is not only top-secret, it's very dangerous. We don't want to put you at the risk of knowing too much.'  
  
Relena sighed, defeated. 'But can't I DO something instead of just sitting around?'  
  
The Gundam pilots exchanged glances.  
  
'Are you on good terms with the school librarian?' Duo asked slyly.  
  
Relena made a face. 'She likes me well enough, but she's dreadful to everyone else.'  
  
'Well, you see, she won't let us look into the school history files that are kept in the library. She mistrusts us. And even though we could always follow Heero's example and break in at night, it would be easier if you could get her to let you look at them.' Duo explained.  
  
'OK', Relena said warily. 'But what do you mean, follow Heero's example and break in at night?'  
  
Quatre smiled. 'That's Heero's way of investigating. He checked out the files in the office computer last night, where he met Wufei.'  
  
The girl's eyes widened. 'Wufei Chang is here?'  
  
'Yes, but he's not undercover. He just sneaks in at night to see if he can find out anything, so he's missing all the fun', Duo complained.  
  
Relena was going through her school-bag absent-mindedly, when she felt a folded piece of paper in it. Suspecting it to be the geography worksheet she was missing, she unfolded it carelessly. It was a note.  
  
Relena, Come to the school gym after classes end today. When you get there, go into the broom-closet adjoining it. Under the linoleum is a trap-door. Go through it and meet me there. Heero  
  
Trembling, Relena stared at the note and tried to get herself under control so Quatre and Duo wouldn't see that something had upset her.  
  
She had to go and see him. She had failed him so many times already; he would never forgive her if she didn't come. And she couldn't forget the kiss they had shared. For a second she toyed with the idea of telling Duo and Quatre. But she dismissed it, telling herself that there wouldn't be any danger and Heero would dislike it if she did.  
  
But later on, she would have been desperate to have the chance to tell them.  
  
************************************  
  
Well, that's all in the way of plot I can think up. Sorry for such a short chapter, but I'm a little bit stuck. Hope you liked it anyway (and tell me so; it doesn't do me any good if you love it and I don't even know). Well, see ya all in the next chapter! Shooting Jewel  
  
Thanks to you guys, this chapter came out. I swear I wouldn't have been able to write it if you hadn't backed me up.  
  
Meio-Chan- uh, I'm sure Duo and Quatre would prefer being kept alive, but I can understand that you're angry at them! apol- well, it had to happen sometime, right? Mara- man, you sure know how to make a person embarrassed *blushes as she reads the compliments* Thank you so much for always being loyal and reviewing!!! Pink Sakura- sorry, this chapter was not soon, I admit it myself. I thought of making it Tekkan, but then they'd be in sooo much trouble. Laura- thank you, I love long reviews! Of course I'll email you! sweetangel- forgive me for bringing out this chapter so late, k? I'm hoping for more H/R, too. WolfSammy- thanx again for your email, hope you like this next chapter! Bunny- well, after every good chapter there has to come sort of a boring one like this, right? Beatrice- thanks, I like to hear that! Callisto Nicol- you're the sappy romantic type, too? That makes two of us! I'm afraid Tekkan is going to be mean. and last, but not least, my famous editor, *cuty_cat*! 


	7. Rescuer in Need

Rescuer in Need  
  
Just remember: I am so very, very, very sorry for not updating for so long. And I love all my patient reviewers! Don't worry: This will NOT be a typical Heero-rescuing-Relena situation. It starts out like that, but believe me, it belongs to the plan. (Uh, what plan, Shooting Jewel? You have zero plans for any of your fanfics). ANYWAY, this chapter explains the mystery with Quatre knowing Tekkan, and vice versa. Ready? Here goes!  
  
  
  
The rest of the day passed by Relena like a hazy mist. She did not register the anxiety all her friends expressed, nor the fervent concern her admirers showed. It felt to her as if she was caught in a net, unable to get free wherever she looked.  
  
It was wrong of Heero to be here. How could he have come here, where SHE was? Hadn't he known the danger he would put himself in by doing this?  
  
For Relena knew now that she would never be strong enough to see Heero's serious, blank face basically every day, and not show that they knew each other. She had supposed she could do it, but now the situation was different. She had promised him she would pretend she didn't know him, but she HADN'T known him then. She hadn't known that he cared enough to kiss anyone, let alone her.  
  
And it was unfair, Relena decided, her head in her hands, propped up on the literature book she was supposed to be studying. Everything was alright for Heero, he could hide any emotion, and, on the few occasions she had seen something in his face, he had carefully chosen a deserted place to show it. He would have no problems. In fact, he probably didn't care about her that much at all. Maybe- her heart ached just thinking about it -maybe it was just another part he was playing to fool somebody. He was playing the earnest young scholar, why should Relena Peacecraft's admirer be any different to him?  
  
But for her, it was difficult. So difficult she knew without trying that she couldn't do it. She just wasn't the stone soldier Heero was, and if there was an emotion in her as strong and painful as the one she was experiencing now, it would be written on her face every time she looked at him.  
  
For now she finally knew what she felt for Heero, after that kiss, and that was something that was impossible to hide.  
  
Could she risk seeing Heero after school, as he had instructed her through the note? But she had to, after letting him down so many times. And yet she didn't want to, for fear he would- for fear he would do something.  
  
The word 'fear' suddenly jolted something in Relena's mind. She had learned long ago that it did not do to be afraid. She had faced her fears before, and now she would once more. Even though this was not fear for anyone's life, it was fear for her soul. And that was selfish!  
  
A sudden blue flame flickered in Relena's eyes, making them sparkle with determination. Never would she let herself live with the fact that she was selfish. She would tread on her fears and see Heero.  
  
***********************************  
  
Quatre's military training was very handy in his stealthily following Tekkan around. Even though he could not imagine where he had seen that sneering, resentful face, he didn't associate it with anything good. It was better to keep a close watch on him.  
  
He had taken up his stalking after Tekkan had left the cafeteria, and had now the feeling that they had been through the entire school at least three times. What was more irritating was the fact that Tekkan didn't do anything suspicious. He occasionally threw a punch with one of his 'friends', but that was all.  
  
And now lunch was over, and he had accomplished nothing. Quatre was discouraged. For as soon as Tekkan entered a classroom, he would have to officially join the class as the reporter. But doing that would surely rouse his mysterious enemy's attention towards him. Especially if Tekkan remembered him from somewhere, too, as he had certainly seemed to.  
  
So, his only other option would be to hang around the classroom door, and wait for Tekkan to emerge, Quatre thought wearily. If only his memory would kick in and give him a hint on who this guy was!  
  
But all his plans were dashed when the bell signalling the start of classes rang, and Tekkan showed no signs of hurrying off to his appointed classroom. Quatre perked up, and followed him along another hallway, and then out onto the school grounds.  
  
Blinking in the afternoon sun which was shining straight at his eyes, Quatre slid behind an outcrop of the building, so that he could sneak a look at Tekkan every now and then.  
  
He had drawn out a scrap of paper, and was writing hurriedly on it. Try as he might, Quatre could not make out the words. The note was very short, but he knew that even a few words on paper could tell him where he had seen Tekkan before.  
  
A sudden noise made Quatre's muscles seize up into fighting position. From the other side of the school building, a small girl with hazel curls that bounced when she walked advanced on Tekkan.  
  
'Have you got it?' she asked him carelessly.  
  
He nodded, and shoved the folded piece of paper roughly at her. 'Go do your work,' he instructed her, 'and remember to be silly and disarming. This guy's really suspicious.'  
  
The girl laughed, and put the note in her school bag. 'Why don't you just slip it into his pocket, or something?' she asked innocently.  
  
Tekkan growled dangerously. 'I told you, I CAN'T!' he said between gritted teeth. 'He'd notice too soon for me to get even a meter's distance from him. With Miss Prissy, it's different. I don't think she even registered that I'd walked by her.'  
  
Again, the girl laughed. Its tinkling, artificial sound annoyed Quatre. 'Why, aren't you the big guy! Have to ask a girl to do the difficult jobs!'  
  
'Stuff it,' Tekkan advised her, narrowing his eyes.  
  
She smiled mockingly at him. 'What way should I go? I don't want to miss the fun.'  
  
'The back way- you know, from the grounds.'  
  
After another toss of her curls, the girl went back into the school the way she'd come. Tekkan glared after her for another second, then turned around abruptly and started off towards the door Quatre was hiding at.  
  
Quatre's reflexes did not fail him. Quietly, but at lightning-speed, he opened the door, slipped back into the school, and closed the door behind him. Then, he ran noiselessly into the first available room he saw- the copy room. There he waited until he had heard Tekkan's footsteps fading away.  
  
Groaning noiselessly, Quatre shoved the hair out of his face. If only he could have read that note! And who was the 'suspicious guy'? One of the Gundam pilots, maybe even he? It wouldn't surprise him in the least. But who was 'Miss Prissy'?  
  
Well, whoever it was, he had to find that girl again. She carried the note.  
  
*****************************  
  
Duo was exasperated. Where on earth had Heero gone? School was just over, and he hadn't seen him anywhere! Now there wasn't anybody there for him to tease! But not only that, they really needed to get more research done on the project that was being developed here. And now Heero had gone and disappeared. So like him!  
  
Suddenly Duo stopped searching the quickly-emptying classroom he was in, as a thought struck him. Talking of disappearing. He hadn't seen Quatre since lunch. And even though it was expectable of Heero, Quatre wasn't the type to go sneaking off on his own.  
  
For a second, he frowned, trying to figure it out. But soon his face lit up with mischief, as he remembered a little secret of his own.  
  
Grinning delightedly, he left the school. Actually, he owed his buddies Heero and Quatre something. Everything was much more convenient this way.  
  
Duo walked a few blocks of the city until he came to the hotel he was staying at. He marched straight by the receptionist's desk and headed for the elevator.  
  
In the fourth floor, he quickly found the door he was looking for, and knocked on it politely. The door opened and a girl with short, black hair and a big smile on her face appeared.  
  
**********************************  
  
  
  
Heero was finding his way through the hallways to the main exit, when he was suddenly stopped by a girl, who was playing with her hazel curls excitedly.  
  
'Are you Heero Yinkomoto?' she asked him, wide-eyed, her face a picture of pure innocence.  
  
Heero was on full alert. She was acting, he was sure of that. But what did she want to achieve? Wordlessly, he nodded.  
  
The girl giggled and pulled a folded piece of paper out of her bag.  
  
'Relena wants you to have this,' she informed him, grinning delightedly, and held out the harmless-looking scrap to him.  
  
Heero stared at it a moment, unsure of what to do. At the mention of Relena's name he was plunged yet again into regret and guilt of what he had got her, and himself, into. And all because of this one show of emotions. He would never let it happen again, not ever.  
  
Hardening himself past caring, he coolly took the paper from her, and went straight off into the little desolate corridor where Relena had found him after she had hurt him so badly.  
  
Some perfect soldier I'm turning out to be, he thought grimly. And kissing Relena was the last straw of my absolute lack of discipline.  
  
He distracted himself from his inner torments by unfolding the piece of paper. It was a note.  
  
Heero,  
  
There is something extremely important that I must discuss with you. Alone. Please come to the gym, go into the broom closet right beside it, pull the linoleum away, and go through the trap door that is there. I will be waiting for you. But don't tell anybody, I beg you! I am counting on you.  
  
Relena  
  
Heero glanced over it suspiciously. Relena could have written it, but an impostor would have had no trouble doing something like that.  
  
Well, either way, he had to go down there. Something shuddered in him at meeting Relena alone, but he knew that if she wanted his council, he had to be there. If it was an impostor, then it was even more necessary to check it out. He might get behind the secret of his mission.  
  
***********************  
  
Still determined from the decision to face her fears truly and unafraid, Relena set off to the gym the minute school was over. The gym doors had not been locked yet, which was lucky for her. After having crossed the enormous room, she reached the door to the broom closet. To her surprise, she found it unlocked. Had Heero already been here?  
  
The broom closet was stuffy, and filled with cleaning utensils. Looking around carefully to make sure no one was watching her, Relena bent down and rolled up the dirty grey linoleum that covered the floor- and a small, insignificant-looking trap door. It was not barred in any way either, and opened quite easily. Relena could not see the bottom of the hole, but only darkness.  
  
With complete confidence in Heero, she lowered herself through until she was only hanging on to the floor above by her hands, and then let go and went plummeting down.  
  
****************************  
  
Heero quickly found his way to the school gym, staying in the shadows, and not letting anyone see where he was going. He was positive that there was a trap prepared for him, but he was not going to fall into it. Instead, he was going to try and catch whoever had set it.  
  
He now saw that it couldn't possibly have been Relena who had written the note. How would she know about a trap door in the broom closet? And she would never want to talk to him again, after what he had done to her. Never.  
  
Something in Heero burned like fire at this thought, torturing him intolerably. Strong, individualistic Relena, who wouldn't let anything get in the way of her ideals. She wouldn't want anything to do with him, a mere soldier, a mere fighting machine.  
  
Heero shook his head, furious at himself. Somehow his feelings, which he had so vigorously detached from himself, were clinging to him again.  
  
He had now snuck quietly across the gym and had reached the shabby broom closet. He tried opening the door, and was not in the least surprised to find it unlocked. Reaching for the gun he had been hiding in his jacket pocket, he flung the door wide open.  
  
Nobody was there. But clearly someone had been here, for the linoleum was rolled back, and the exposed trap door open.  
  
Automatically, Heero took out a length of steel rope, dug the hook on one end of it into the floor, and let the rope fall into the dark hole.  
  
Then, he readied his gun, and slid noiselessly through the trap door, and along the rope into the pit. He could not see anything but blackness, but he did not fear an ambush. He was quite sure he could hold off any attack, and if he couldn't- no one would miss him.  
  
Soon he felt his feet touching the floor, and, letting go of the rope, he spun around once to see if he could make out anything in the dark.  
  
There was nothing to see or hear. A heavy silence, loaded with expectation, hung all around him. Heero narrowed his eyes. Where was the enemy?  
  
He didn't have to wait long. Suddenly, light flooded all around him, and he instinctively flung his hand up to his face to shield his eyes. But he gripped his gun securely, never losing his head.  
  
When he could see again in the sudden brightness, he stared around rapidly. What he saw was worse than he anything he could have ever imagined.  
  
Tekkan, sneering in obvious delight, had a tight arm around Relena, and a knife to her throat.  
  
'Nice of you to join us, Yinkomoto. One move, forwards or backwards, or one shot from that gun, and the Relena you know nothing about is dead.'  
  
************************  
  
(A/N: Should I stop here? Hmmm, rather not. My chapters are too short anyway.)  
  
Quatre had been searching for ages, and he still had seen no sign of the girl with the hazel hair, or of Tekkan. Where could the villains be? Not in the school, at any rate. He had been going through it over and over again, without ever a sign of either one.  
  
Exhausted, he leant against a classroom door. There was no way he could find them if they had left the school grounds-  
  
Suddenly, two voices floated back to him from his memory.  
  
'What way should I go? I don't want to miss the fun.' 'The back way- you know, from the grounds.'  
  
How stupid of him not to think of it before! The girl was probably going the 'back way', and had gone out of the school and onto the grounds.  
  
Without wasting another second, Quatre raced through the hallways at top speed, eager to find the exit. When he did, and had emerged out onto the grassy grounds, he immediately saw a figure, quite far away, doing something at a large boulder that marked the middle of the grounds.  
  
Not stopping to think, and still running as fast as he could, Quatre bent down and snatched up a rock, which he hurled in the direction of the figure.  
  
Even at a distance, his aim was good. The girl dropped like the stone which had hit her head.  
  
********************  
  
Relena stared as if in trance at the motionless Heero. She had not been afraid before- not even when Tekkan had first grabbed her in the darkness and put the cold blade of the knife under her chin. But now, she was shamed to be caught in a position like this by Heero. He might think she had been stupid enough to follow Tekkan in here on her own accord.  
  
Heero was still holding his gun, but no longer was pointing it at Tekkan. His eyes were blank, but when they met hers, a rage filled them, which made Relena honestly wish Tekkan would bring the knife in a little closer and kill her. Heero was angry at her. (A/N: Of course, really he isn't, but she doesn't know that)  
  
'Drop your weapon,' commanded her capturer in an authoritative voice.  
  
Heero's fingers loosened their hold on the gun, and it went clattering to the floor. Despair filled Relena. She was sure he wouldn't have done that if he didn't think that he had to protect her from her fate. And that was wrong!  
  
'Now,' continued Tekkan, an evil delight in his voice, 'how about we re-enact that last bit of our fight the other day, this time with a different victor.'  
  
'You mean change the last bit of our fight', Heero spat at him. 'I had thought you had at least enough honour to accept the fact that you lost. But you even went as far as kidnapping a defenceless girl to get your victory. There isn't a shred of honour in that, and you'll get no satisfaction from it.'  
  
Relena could hear Tekkan's breathing getting more laboured, as he fought to control the anger that swelled up in him at this remark.  
  
'You'll pay,' he promised Heero darkly. 'Either you or the 'defenceless girl' that means so much to you.'  
  
Relena gazed imploringly at Heero. If only he would tell Tekkan she didn't mean anything to him! Then he might toss her aside, thinking she was useless as blackmail. And, even armed with a knife, Tekkan was no match for the other boy.  
  
But Heero didn't say a word. He avoided Relena's pleading gaze by lowering his head.  
  
Desperate, Relena tried to save the situation herself. 'Tekkan,' she told him sternly, 'nothing is going to come of this. Heero won't obey you simply to keep me out of danger. He doesn't care for me that much, I can assure you.'  
  
Tekkan drove the blade as close to her as he possibly could without pricking her skin. 'One more word, and you won't exist any more,' he threatened her.  
  
'I don't care!' Relena raised her voice. 'I only have my life to lose. There is nothing you can threaten me with.'  
  
He ignored her and focused on Heero instead. 'Come here,' he told him menacingly. 'I have the power now. And if you take your punishment without dodging or evading, then maybe I'll let her live.'  
  
'Don't!' It escaped Relena's lips before she could stop it. Her eyes were oddly bright, and her features were set in resoluteness. 'I'm not worth it, Heero,' she said persistently. 'You must disobey him.'  
  
His blue eyes were shadowed with so many different emotions she could not distinguish any in particular. Wordlessly, he walked up to Tekkan until he was easily within his reach. Relena ached to reach out to him, but she knew it couldn't do any good.  
  
Still having the knife fixed to her throat with his left hand, Tekkan punched Heero's cheekbone with his right fist.  
  
Relena screamed in dismay, but Heero didn't flinch. His eyes burned with a rebellion that didn't match his submissive posture.  
  
Helplessness overtook Relena. There was absolutely nothing she could do to help Heero, and it was all her fault that he had to let himself be beaten down by Tekkan now. No matter how much she tried to persuade Heero to step back, he never moved. Tears slipped down her cheeks, and she felt each blow as if it was being administered to her soul.  
  
There was only one thing to be done, and that was to lean forward and take her life on Tekkan's knife. Then his protection would be gone, and Heero wouldn't have to suffer anymore. If she could just bring her trembling body one millimetre further, Heero would be released.  
  
*************************  
  
The pain was not new to Heero. But the humiliation of not being able to fight back, or even dodge the blows tortured him. In front of Relena too.  
  
Did she truly believe what she had said? That he did not care about her enough to take whatever cruelty Tekkan wanted to carry out on him? Even as Tekkan's fist collided with his lip and brought a searing tingle and blood to his jaw, Heero knew that it was a small price to pay for keeping Relena alive.  
  
Relena Peacecraft was a symbol, and a legend, to the earth and the colonies; a name they trusted, and a person they believed in. She must at all costs be kept alive, to keep peace and a mutual understanding between people.  
  
Though he tried to tell himself this was the only reason he was taking the humiliation, he knew that a small flame in him, that had helped him through worse hardships than this, reflected Relena's presence. She had rashly, and without any consideration for herself, lit it up inside him, and since then he was not the same heartless, mechanical soldier he had been.  
  
'Down into the dirt with you!' screamed Tekkan, in a frenzied rage at finding Heero still standing.  
  
His pride was shattered, and torn down, as he dropped to the ground. Let Tekkan do what he wanted with him, he would not let Relena get hurt.  
  
Heero did not even notice the savage kicks brought upon him by Tekkan, but listened to Relena's frantic sobbing, which suddenly came to an end. What was she doing?  
  
It was at that moment that, looking past Tekkan's feet, he suddenly saw a figure in the shadows behind him. Heero gazed blankly at it. Quatre.  
  
  
  
*********************  
  
Quatre had followed the tunnel under the stone the girl with the hazel curls had moved aside until he came to a cavern, where a most unpleasant sight met his eyes.  
  
The back of Tekkan, holding a knife against Relena Peacecraft's throat, and mercilessly kicking Heero, who was not doing anything to defend himself, but looked as though he had gone into a trance.  
  
Quatre stared at the group, stupefied by a sudden flashback that had come vividly to him.  
  
A crowd of people were standing in a loose semi-circle around two figures. Quatre was curious to know what was going on, so he stepped closer.  
  
A boy, around his age, was gripping a little girl tightly, and had a knife to her neck. The girl was looking around hysterically, waiting for someone to rescue her.  
  
'Everyone! Stay away, or you'll be responsible for this girl's death!' yelled the black-haired captor, who was turning around in circles so nobody would try to get him from the back. 'And don't touch the money!'  
  
Now Quatre saw that there was a safe on the ground next to the boy's feet. Obviously, he had robbed a store, and was holding the girl hostage.  
  
Rage boiled up inside him, but he knew he couldn't advance on the thief, or he would slit the girl's throat.  
  
'Is that all you can do?' Quatre asked coolly. 'Grab a little girl so you won't have to atone for any punishment? Can't you even fight your way out on your own?'  
  
The boy whipped his head round to Quatre, and stared at him icily. Quatre matched his gaze, speaking slowly and deliberately to keep the boy focused on him.  
  
'You think you're smart, to be able to rob a store. But let me tell you: cleverness will only get you so far. If you were truly strong and clever you wouldn't have to capture anybody to get away unharmed.'  
  
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that a man behind the boy was inching closer to him, ready to grab the knife out of his hand. He had to keep this criminal staring at him!  
  
'The only reason you do this, is because you're afraid. You're afraid to get caught, and that makes you a coward. Don't you see that nobody admires a coward? People might secretly admire a clever thief, but nobody would ever admire a coward,' he went on, watching the boy glaring bullets into him. The knife had moved quite far from the girl's neck, and was now more in the air.  
  
'What would you know about-,' the boy started to say, but in this moment, the man sneaking up on him had deftly snatched the knife out of his hand. While the boy stared around in shock, the little girl he had been holding broke away from him and straight into her mother's arms.  
  
The police arrived and the criminal was caught. Quatre went up to him and spoke quietly. 'If you were truly strong and clever you wouldn't have to steal. Let this be a lesson to you.'  
  
Without a moment's hesitation, Quatre slipped quietly up to Tekkan. The blade of his knife was farther away from Relena's throat than he or even she realized.  
  
In one swift movement, Quatre's hand shot out, gripped the knife, and pulled it backwards out of Tekkan's grasp.  
  
While Tekkan, totally dumbfounded, turned around sharply towards Quatre, Relena tore from his grasp and ran forward to Heero.  
  
Quatre's eyes were fairly burning with hatred and disgust. 'It was you, Tekkan, wasn't it?' he said in a shaky voice. 'It was you who used that little girl as a hostage two years ago.'  
  
*clears her throat* I sincerely hope you are not put off by the acts of violence in this chapter, or by its total lack of romance. Both Heero and Relena are too confused at the moment to think properly. But I hope they will come to their senses soon. OK, have I explained all mysteries now? Well, except the you-know-what that Heero and co. are looking for. But you're not supposed to find that out till later, awfully sorry.  
  
Reviewers are as follow:  
  
Laura- I'm emailing you about this, I hope you'll come by and read it! Sorry that this wasn't very romantic. Mara- well, it's not just the scheming ex-boyfriend, it's also cuz Heero humiliated him. I'm glad you liked the H/R bits. And your reviews are EXTREMELY insightful. I'm so happy you're sticking around, I love faithful reviewers (even though I'm a very unfaithful writer). Callisto Nicol- you're absolutely right as you can see, it was the evil dude Tekkan. He makes for a nice baddie, don't you think? And this chapter isn't romantic at all, cuz it's getting to an all time low romance bit. Maybe we'll get some more soon. *looks hopeful* fallen phenoix- Wow! That was some record! Three reviews right after each other! Uh, you think Duo hilarious? Hm. Yeah, that gundanium alloy is a pain, but we have to put up with it, otherwise I'd have nothing to write about it! Yup, Relena is definitely stupid in this chapter. Sorry about that. I just realized I have three emails from you, too, and I didn't know cuz I haven't been online for AGES. See you!  
  
I am more than the word thankful to all of you for giving me feedback on this. It's pretty ambitious for me. *gulps* Well, I hope you come by again! Shooting Jewel  
  
Help! I just realized I forgot to mention *cuty-cat* for editing all my chapters! *bites her nails nervously* Well, I owe you lots, k? S.J. 


	8. Friendship is Meaningless!

Friendship is Meaningless?!  
  
OK, I'm all set for the next chapter. I keep changing my mind about what's going to happen, but I think I've got it down now. This chapter isn't going to be that interesting (i.e., weird, violent, or dramatic) cuz it's sort of an in-between thingey. You know what I mean? Good!  
  
  
  
Tekkan glared at Quatre for a second, too furious to speak.  
  
'You're the Winner brat,' he finally said through clenched teeth. 'I knew the second I saw you that you weren't a reporter. I recognized you, even though I didn't know who you were.'  
  
Quatre's usually kind voice was cold as steel. 'Well, if you value your life, you're not going to let information like that get around, understood?'  
  
He swished the knife in his hand menacingly.  
  
'Ha! Attack an unarmed guy with a knife!' Tekkan spat. 'You and your big honour talk don't go together.'  
  
That stung Quatre's icy voice into life. 'I taught you your lesson, Tekkan!' he cried out. 'And you didn't learn. First, you used a small child and now you used Relena Peacecraft, the symbol of peace herself!'  
  
'And just so you know,' he went on after a small pause in which nothing was heard but Relena's quiet sobs and Tekkan's ragged breathing. 'I wouldn't need a knife to assault you. I may not be half as effective as Heero when he fights but I am a Gundam pilot.'  
  
Suddenly, his situation came absolutely clear to Tekkan. He was caught in his own cave, the one he had tried to catch Heero in- and now he was the loser, once again. There was nowhere left to run. Quatre barred the way out onto the grounds, and between him and the rope hanging down from the trap door were Heero and Relena.  
  
But there was still one way left.  
  
Tekkan's eyes gleamed insanely as he yelled: 'You haven't won, Winner!' and before anyone in the cave could do anything, he had hurled a small object at Quatre- which the pilot ducked, of course.  
  
But the damage was done.  
  
When the object hit the floor, an explosion took place which hurled everybody off their feet and on to the hard stone floor. Everybody, except for Tekkan, who was prepared.  
  
Heero, his soldier training forcing him, despite his injuries, to leap up again almost the second he hit the floor, could glimpse Tekkan's shadow through the thick dust clouds that were enveloping everything. But the shadow was fading- getting smaller-  
  
Heero blinked hard against tiny particles blocking his vision.  
  
Tekkan had disappeared.  
  
**********************************  
  
  
  
Being the first to grasp their situation, Heero quietly took control.  
  
'Quatre?' he called out into the swirling dust. Almost at the same time, he gave himself an inward push and approached the vague outline he knew to be Relena.  
  
The first thing he could see of her was her eyes- big, beautiful and glassy with the tears the dust had provoked. Or was it just the dust?  
  
Heero told himself dully that he didn't care and simply reached out a hand to help her up. She took it gratefully, but let go as soon as she had steadied herself.  
  
Fortunately for Heero, who was fighting hard against the desire to touch Relena's soft, slim hands again, he was distracted by Quatre's shape emerging from a particularly thick dust cloud.  
  
'Are you hurt, Miss Relena? Or you, Heero?' he asked anxiously when he had recognized them.  
  
Relena coughed but assured him she was fine. Heero's eyes simply met Quatre's and the latter nodded, relieved.  
  
'But we'd better get out of here,' Heero said, glancing around. 'Not that I honestly expect that coward to be back soon, but somebody might notice the open trap door in the broom closet.'  
  
The other Gundam pilot agreed. 'Heero, how about you take Miss Relena out the easy way,' he gestured behind him through the clearing dust at the tunnel that led out onto the grounds. 'I'll go up on the rope you've left hanging there, and we'll meet up at the school entrance. After all,' he added, seeing Heero's raised eyebrow, 'you're hurt.'  
  
Heero just shrugged. With Relena following close behind, he made his way out into the clearer tunnel.  
  
After a moment and when she was certain of being out of Quatre's ear- shot, Relena broke the stony silence in a calm but reproachful voice.  
  
'Why did you do that? Why did you let him torture you like that? I told you, I'm not worth it.'  
  
She was expecting an answer, and he knew it. But he could not face her. He couldn't even speak to her. Even though he hadn't known it then, he had had something before. Something she might admire, in however subtle way. Before, he might have been able to answer her; to turn around and look into her eyes.  
  
But now it was impossible. He had just lost what little he possessed. Namely, his pride. Tekkan had insulted him, beaten him, thrown him to the ground and kicked him as if he were nothing but a half-grown puppy much too weak to defend itself.  
  
Now Relena had seen him beat; her undefeated rescuer had been beat. He wasn't even the perfect soldier any longer. And though he had often cursed being called that, he now almost wished for it. It would have allowed him to at least protect Relena, if not have anything else to do with her. But he had lost all that now. There was no excuse for Relena to tolerate him anymore.  
  
So, in answer to her question, all he said was: 'You're Relena Peacecraft.'  
  
She had caught up with him while he was thinking and shook her head vigorously at these last words.  
  
'Heero, my name shouldn't entitle me to be spared at all costs and let you have your pride torn from you. Believe me, YOU are needed much more in this world than I am.'  
  
His face remained stony, impassive, and unreachable. 'Not now,' he told her curtly. 'Guess I'm not the 'perfect soldier' anymore.'  
  
Relena's eyes flashed with indignation. Suddenly, she swerved so she was standing right in front of him. He nearly knocked into her, but was able to stop just in time.  
  
He tried to keep his eyes cast down, not ready for a confrontation of this kind, but Relena wouldn't let him. She grasped his face between her hands and held his gaze with hers.  
  
Heero's heart beat somewhere inside him. Everything, including his instincts, was warning him of danger: the danger if he stayed and faced her, the danger of letting emotions show, the danger of telling her something he would later regret.  
  
But he stayed. He couldn't explain it even to himself, but he didn't turn and walk away. I can't keep running away from Relena forever, he thought, bracing himself for whatever she was going to tell him. Or ask him. He feared the second possibility more than the first. He would have to answer her.  
  
'Heero, listen to me', begged Relena. 'You are much more than just a soldier. You try to hide it, but you have a soul, you have feelings.' her voice broke and she couldn't speak for a second, still gazing up at him imploringly. She swallowed hard and then continued.  
  
'You could have friends. Like the Gundam pilots, for example. But you don't let them be your friends. They try to, but they can't. Don't you see? Let them be your friends, Heero.' Her voice was no more than a whisper now.  
  
'Let ME be your friend.'  
  
  
  
**************************************  
  
After an eternity had passed and Heero had not spoken, just stared at her with this curiously heart-broken expression, Relena couldn't stand it any longer. She turned away abruptly.  
  
She had let him see into a corner of her heart where secrets lay that even she was not aware of. She had just admitted to him and to herself that she cared for him; more than she cared for anybody else. And he wouldn't say the words she was longing to hear. He wouldn't say anything.  
  
But just before she was out of his reach, Heero reached out and held her hand in his. She turned around expectantly, allowing the tender feeling of hope rise inside her.  
  
He looked at her levelly, then said in a low voice: 'Relena, friendship has no meaning for me.'  
  
For a moment she was torn between the delightful excitement he stirred up in her by clasping her hand and the sting of pain she felt at his words.  
  
What was he telling her? That the kiss- Relena ached with desire remembering it- had had no meaning for him either? That every word of comfort he had ever whispered to her was meaningless? Was he indirectly telling her exactly what he felt for her, or was it just an answer he felt was expected from the 'perfect soldier'?  
  
At last, she yanked her hand out of his and confronted him with blazing eyes.  
  
'Then what does?' she shot at him, and whirled around to finally leave him, alone in the tunnel.  
  
  
  
************************************  
  
Heero stared at the retreating figure of Relena in shocked silence.  
  
How could kind, calm Relena suddenly turn on him like that? She had offered friendship- Heero tasted the word bitterly on his tongue- but there couldn't be a thing such as friendship in his life. He stayed on good terms with the other pilots, but they were not his friends in the sense Relena meant.  
  
'Then what does?'  
  
His thoughts lingered on Relena's last, provoking words. What had meaning for him?  
  
He brushed the question aside, certain that he knew the answer already: his missions- what else?  
  
Finally, he groaned in misery and walked the length of the tunnel slowly. Suddenly, it caved steeply upwards, but it wasn't impossible for a normal person to climb. It took Heero five seconds.  
  
Then, he was pulling himself out of the tunnel into the sunlight, blinking against the glare of the sun.  
  
As soon as his eyes had adjusted to the brightness, he turned around and looked at the three figures, bewildered now.  
  
Quatre was already out on the grounds, indicating that he and Relena had spent much more time underground than he had thought, but he wasn't the only surprise.  
  
Relena, who he had last seen angry, was shining with happiness as she hugged another girl enthusiastically.  
  
Heero studied the girl, not sure what to think of her arrival. Short brown curls, laughing blue eyes, tall and slim. Reminded him of-  
  
He raised his eyebrows. 'Catherine,' he said tonelessly.  
  
Catherine laughed and winked at him. 'Are you glad to see me?' she asked mischievously.  
  
Heero's lips shrugged into something that could have been a smile.  
  
'You're a genius, Catherine, how did you make him smile?' Quatre asked, laughing himself.  
  
She made a vague gesture with her hands and grinned at Heero. 'You're just like Trowa,' she told him. 'So I get lots of practice.'  
  
At this, Quatre looked up, clearly interested. 'So how is Trowa?'  
  
Catherine's grin faded from her face and she looked confused. 'I should be the one asking that.' She looked at each of their faces intently. 'He is here, isn't he?'  
  
'Your brother?' Quatre shook his head. 'I have no idea where Trowa is, but as far as I know, he isn't here.'  
  
'But. but where else could he be?' Catherine looked around helplessly. 'I thought he'd be with the rest of the Gundam pilots. In other words, with you.'  
  
'We tried to contact him about the new danger, but we found absolutely no trace of him.' Quatre informed her.  
  
For a moment, Catherine's spirit seemed to be broken: tears leaked out of her frightened eyes as she bit her lip and lowered her head.  
  
Relena put an arm around her again and spoke gently. 'Catherine, your brother likes to be solitary. He knows how to cover up his tracks. And just because he hasn't contacted you or the other pilots, doesn't mean that he's in danger. He just wants to be alone for a while.' She subconsciously touched her neck, where Tekkan had held his knife, and added: 'Believe me, he'll be a lot safer anywhere else than here.'  
  
Catherine nodded, taking all the comforting words in, and straightened up with new confidence. She flashed another smile around the circle of people. 'So, what have you been up to here? Tell me your adventures.'  
  
Quatre laughed. 'Adventures? Maybe Heero's been having adventures, but not me.'  
  
Relena suddenly let go of her friend and turned to him. 'What are you talking about? You just saved me and Heero from Tekkan! I would call that an adventure. And I'm very grateful to you,' she said fervently.  
  
Heero, who had been disinterestedly following the conversation, felt something in him twinge in pain. Her words were meant for him to hear. He had always been her rescuer, but now she had another; one, that would not bring such misery to her. Someone who could be her friend.  
  
In disappointment and his own anger at it, he lowered his head. He had met Relena's gaze, he had stood up to her, he had done his duty. And he now knew he had lost her forever. She wouldn't speak to him again after this about anything that wasn't entirely business. Good, he thought grimly. She has always been a danger to my mission.  
  
But however hard he tried, he could not conjure the satisfaction he wanted to feel. He felt only intolerable pain.  
  
While he was gazing at the ground, he suddenly noticed an outline; places where the grass had been pressed down.  
  
'Quatre,' he said in a low, urgent voice.  
  
'What is it?' Quatre looked up inquisitively.  
  
'Look here,' answered Heero, pointing at the ground. 'Someone was lying here.'  
  
Quatre studied the imprints for a second, then turned ashen. 'Oh, no!' he groaned. 'This is where SHE was!'  
  
'And who is she?' Heero asked.  
  
The other Gundam pilot explained to him how he had found out about the secret tunnel.  
  
'And when I left, the girl with the hazel curls was still lying there, stunned,' he finished. 'And now. she's gone. Maybe to help Tekkan or something.'  
  
Heero sighed. 'I think I know the girl,' he said slowly. 'She was the one that gave me the instructions to come here in the first place.'  
  
Suddenly they were interrupted by Catherine, who had been watching them with a fascinated expression on her face all along.  
  
'Hold it!' she demanded. 'How about you explain to Relena and me what this is all about? We don't understand anything -at least, I don't- and we can't help unless we do, right?'  
  
The boys exchanged significant glances. Quatre decided to speak for both of them:  
  
'Look, we know you want to help, but we are not to give away information like that, under pain of death. So, we can't tell you the main object of our mission. What we can do,' he added, seeing the disappointed look on Catherine's face, 'is tell you what characters are involved, and who you have to fear. But don't forget, this is dangerous. I know you've been in danger before, but why risk your life again? It's easy to get killed at this school, as you, Miss Relena, found out soon. And you must understand that, with Trowa gone, we feel responsible for you, Catherine. Alright?'  
  
Catherine grinned. 'So tell us,' she said simply.  
  
The Gundam pilots related the facts they were allowed to: that there was something valuable and extremely dangerous hidden in the school, that Wufei met Heero at night to investigate on it, that Quatre and Duo were playing reporters and snooping about the high school, that Heero was supposed to act like a normal kid, that Tekkan was under suspicion of having something to do with the hidden object, had a grudge against Heero and Relena, and knew Quatre's real identification.  
  
To finish, they gave a brief account of their latest 'adventure' in the tunnel.  
  
Catherine's eyes widened. 'So Tekkan's still around here somewhere?'  
  
Heero shrugged. 'Probably not. Too scared.'  
  
'Well,' Quatre continued in a more cheerful tone, 'how about we all go home now and get some rest. I think we're all tired out. Do you have a place to stay, Catherine?'  
  
At this, Catherine suddenly giggled. Everybody else looked at her confusedly, so she tried to appear earnest and assured Quatre she had a room in a hotel.  
  
  
  
***************************************  
  
  
  
As the Gundam pilots were leaving, Relena turned on Catherine. 'Alright, I know you're hiding a secret,' she told her severely, 'but I'm not sure I even want to know what you're up to. How about you come home to my place right now?'  
  
Catherine was delighted. 'Sure, I'd love to. I just have to phone Hilde, she's expecting me this-' she stopped short.  
  
Relena laughed out loud; something she hadn't done since Tekkan had sent her the mysterious note she had believed to be Heero's.  
  
'So Hilde's here, huh? What is she going to do?' she asked curiously.  
  
Catherine shrugged. 'Oh, she isn't sure how she's going to explain to the guys that she is totally accidentally taking a holiday here. But you know Hilde: she'll think of something.'  
  
  
  
*********************************  
  
At that very moment, Hilde was standing outside her room, saying good- bye to Duo.  
  
'So we're agreed on our plan, then?' Duo asked, his eyes dancing.  
  
Hilde grinned. 'Absolutely,' she confirmed. You take him, and I'll take her. It will be so much fun!'  
  
With that, she closed her door, and Duo left the hotel, whistling in anticipation.  
  
******************************  
  
At home, Relena sat down heavily on her bed. Catherine looked at her sympathetically and seated herself on the soft carpet.  
  
'What's the trouble, Relena?' she asked openly.  
  
Relena looked up in a forlorn way. 'It's nothing- nothing that could compare with some of the big dangers that seem to be lurking about the school. I'm concerned for all those students- what if it's a bomb?'  
  
Catherine shrugged. 'There's not much we can do about that, except hope for the best and trust in the Gundam pilots. And stop worrying.' She raised a stern eyebrow at Relena, who looked suddenly more desolate than before.  
  
She smiled knowingly. 'But maybe it would be best not to talk about the Gundam pilots? Especially one in particular?'  
  
Relena's head shot up in defiance. 'What do you mean?' she asked suspiciously.  
  
Catherine laughed. 'I have life experience, Relena, more than you do. You don't want to talk about Heero because you think your feelings aren't worthy of being mentioned beside the big, frightening things that are happening. But tell me about it, OK? You are important, even if you don't think so.'  
  
Relena's face expression turned bitter. 'Yes,' she said in a low, biting voice. 'I'm important. Because my last name is Peacecraft. That's all that matters to him!'  
  
Her friend shook her head. 'Are you sure?' she asked softly. Then, in a brisker voice: 'This is Heero we're talking about, right? Just for the record.'  
  
Relena smiled thinly. 'Who else? Quatre and Duo appreciate me like a friend, but Heero.' she stopped.  
  
'. appreciates you as something more,' Catherine finished, her grin spreading all over her face.  
  
'No!' was Relena's firm answer. 'He accepts and protects me as the symbol of peace, and that's all! He told me himself!'  
  
At this, Catherine laughed. 'My God, Relena, if you trust everything he says, you'll soon be convinced that he doesn't care for anything!' As Relena had fallen silent, she went on: 'I told you I had lots of practice in handling these kinds of people; Trowa is very similar.'  
  
'In what sense?'  
  
'Well, even though Trowa says less than Heero, and isn't so devoted to his missions, it's more or less the same case. You can't trust what they say.' She fixed her gaze on Relena very decidedly. 'They say whatever's been hammered into their heads, and if they don't have an answer, they'll be coarse with you just to get rid of you. That doesn't mean they're not perfectly nice people, and Heero's special. He's got a lot of advantages and disadvantages, but don't just be blinded by what appears to be his cruelty and unfeeling. I'm positive he feels a lot, especially for you, Relena.'  
  
Relena stared at her in amazement. 'But what am I to go by, if not by what he says? He always hides his feelings, so I can't look at his face, and all his actions are so reserved that I can't make anything of them.'  
  
'Go by feeling,' Catherine suggested. 'Try to experience what he's feeling and you'll know.'  
  
Then lowering her voice, she winked at Relena. 'Or try catching him by surprise, so that he doesn't have time to cover up those precious emotions of his.'  
  
Relena laughed. 'You're evil!' she exclaimed happily, jumping off her bed to hug her friend. 'But I'm so glad you're here. Thank you for all that.'  
  
  
  
*****************************  
  
That night, Heero slipped into the high school again. He made his way through the dark hallways to the office, where a figure was already unlocking the door. The figure looked up sharply and asked in a familiar voice: 'Heero?'  
  
'Hi, Wufei.' Heero pushed past him into the office.  
  
Wufei entered too, and threw off the long coat he was wearing.  
  
'OK,' he said, sitting down on one of the chairs. 'What news?'  
  
Heero started by explaining what had happened in school that day. 'And I contacted Doctor J. He sent me an update on the mission.' He finished his narrative.  
  
'So?' Wufei was impatient.  
  
Heero looked at him, unimpressed. 'He's getting a weapon ready.'  
  
'A weapon?' Wufei frowned in disbelief. Suddenly his expression cleared. 'Oh! You mean-'  
  
When Heero nodded, he smiled grimly. 'At last there's something going on!'  
  
'He also informs us to go on investigating the whereabouts of the 'gundanium alloy' and track every suspicious character,' Heero continued.  
  
'So let's get moving!' Wufei jumped to his feet.  
  
Heero agreed by nodding his head, and soon both pilots had checked their guns and snuck off into the dark passages of the school.  
  
They stuck to the lowest levels and inspected every classroom and storage room on the way.  
  
After about an hours' painstakingly careful work, they reached the gym.  
  
Wufei stared along its enormous length with dislike. 'This is hopeless!' he stormed. 'They would never put the secret entrance to their gundanium in an open place like this!'  
  
Heero was not having that. 'Inspect all the ridges and holes they use to build up the equipment,' he commanded. 'Something could easily be hidden below those.'  
  
Wufei's black eyes flashed. 'And who gave you the authority to give orders like that?'  
  
To the other pilot's complete surprise, Heero smiled. 'You could fight me for it,' he suggested slyly.  
  
Wufei grinned in appreciation. 'Get ready !' he told him and crouched on the floor in fighter's stance.  
  
Heero laughed but tensed his muscles; and before Wufei had a chance to do or say anything, he leaped onto him, bringing him flat onto the ground.  
  
'You cheated!' protested Wufei, trying to keep from laughing in his uncomfortable position. In just another fraction of a second, he had sprang from the ground, tossing Heero aside.  
  
He was on his feet fast enough to duck Wufei's next attack, and jump on him in turn.  
  
Soon they were engaged in a kind of wild-kitten-fight, each of them exclaiming insults or accusations at the other. Finally, they both sat on the floor, gasping for breath from the exertion and the laughing.  
  
Heero, who had had the last upper hand, punched the exhausted Wufei playfully. 'I won,' he informed him.  
  
'Never mind!' Wufei tried to look indignant, but failed when a wide grin spread over his face. 'You cheated!'  
  
Heero laughed, shaking his head. He wasn't entirely sure what their fight had been all about, but it had felt good. Both of them had been tense and miserable; it had been such a relief to have a fight, if only to reduce their aggression and tension.  
  
He had laughed more tonight than at any other time he could remember. He was grateful to Wufei for showing him -in quite a roundabout way- that he could have fun.  
  
Heero was amazed. It seemed incredible to him that after all these years of nothing but missions, fighting, and killing, he could actually break through that hard shell and have fun.  
  
Maybe Relena is right, he thought wistfully. Maybe friendship is of valuable importance. But another part of him reminded him cruelly that nothing could be more important than his missions.  
  
His thoughts were interrupted by Wufei, who had suddenly sat up. 'Heero?'  
  
'What is it?'  
  
Wufei did not speak for a moment, a thoughtful look on his face. Finally he glanced up at Heero.  
  
'Who is going to be in control of the weapon?'  
  
'I don't know. Doctor J didn't say anything about it.'  
  
Wufei got up off the floor and looked at Heero squarely. 'I think you should,' he said openly. 'You're the best of us all.'  
  
Heero raised an eyebrow. Wufei had actually overcome his fierce pride and told him he was superior. But in the next instant he realized with a sharp wince that the words were not true.  
  
'You know I'm not.' His voice was void of any emotion. 'I would have been killed today if it hadn't been for Quatre. And Relena-'  
  
He was about to curse himself for mentioning her name and drop the subject as quickly as he had begun it, but his desire to be frank with Wufei, who had cheered him up considerably, won.  
  
'Relena, who's always been under my protection -sort of automatically- she would have been killed too if it weren't for Quatre. Or Tekkan would have done something worse than death,' he added bitterly.  
  
To his surprise, Wufei was glaring at him. 'God, Yuy, you must be the stupidest guy ever to walk the planet! Let's get a few things straight here: First of all, it takes no great fighter to do what Quatre did. You could have done the same if you'd been in his situation. Secondly, have you ever considered why Relena has always 'automatically' been under your protection? Obviously not. It's cause she wants to, Heero. She would rather be protected by you than anybody else.'  
  
Here he stopped to examine Heero's doubtful face, and continued in a slightly nicer voice: 'Heero, no matter what you do, that girl is always going to be eternally thankful to you and care for you.'  
  
Heero's mind reeled. He could detect truth in the other pilot's words, but what Relena had said to him today overrode it completely. Maybe it had been true before, but it certainly wasn't now. He almost felt like crying, recalling everything he had lost.  
  
Instead, he turned back to Wufei on an entirely different subject. 'I've been thinking. What we've been looking for is a secret entrance, most likely a trap door, right? Well, there's one right in there,' and he gestured towards the hated broom closet.  
  
********************************  
  
Well, like I said, in-between-thingy. Man, I don't seem to be able to write anything these days. It all comes out sounding so dull. *sigh* Hey, I know this last part was extremely weird. But my editor *points quickly at cutycatz* thought it was OK for me to put it out. So. no flames for me, for her! *j/k*  
  
The reviewers I want to thank for their wonderful support, etc, etc, etc.:  
  
Callisto Nicol- yeah, poor Heero! As you can see, Hilde is here!  
  
Fallen phenoix- thanx for reviewing and ur email!  
  
Queen Isa- uh, no, she's not Mariemea. cool idea though!  
  
Alika- well. he knows a little, but not enough to make any real damage in that aspect.  
  
Meio-chan- couldn't agree with you more!  
  
Hot Balla- crazy stories are my specialty *g*  
  
Aqua-mere- after this chapter, you won't like my writing anymore! K.K.- sorry, your name sort of got deleted! Romance? .  
  
Amethyst-Angel462- very original review!  
  
Laura- oops. this one took MONTHS! I'm really sorry.  
  
Thanks to the afore-mentioned editor as well, etc, etc, etc. (u may guess I'm in a very weird mood at the moment)  
  
C U in the next chapter,  
  
Shooting Jewel 


	9. Heero the Highschool Kid

Heero - the High School Kid  
I know this title is a contradiction in itself. I mean, who ever heard of Heero as a kid at high school? Well, in this chapter, he really earns that name. Hopefully. Btw, I hope none of you are going to be creeped out by the - uh, drug-related instances in here. Other than that, just keep reviewing and I'll be at a hundred reviews soon! Just imagine - me! *falls over in a faint*  
  
******************************************  
  
When the two boys reached the trap door, Heero once again took out the steel rope and fastened it at the top.  
  
'This time I trust there won't be any unpleasant surprises at the bottom,' he told Wufei with a slight smile, and began his descent, sliding through the darkness. The situation reminded him uncannily of what had happened earlier on in the day.  
  
Wufei was coming down right after him, and got out a strong flashlight. In its light the two Gundam pilots began inspecting the cave. It was bigger than Heero remembered it, with a very high ceiling, sloping walls, and - a light-switch.  
  
It came as a surprise when Wufei discovered the little trigger on the wall and flicked it simply to see what would happen, and a brilliant light shone from the ceiling.  
  
'That proves that this cave is definitely man-made,' stated Heero, gazing up at the installed lighting system overhead.  
  
'Yes, and I wonder why,' murmured the other pilot, feeling the walls for hidden cracks or door-joints. 'Big as it is, it's still not nearly large enough to hold all that gundanium alloy.'  
  
'I know,' agreed Heero, 'and there doesn't seem to be another outlet except for the one that leads up to the school grounds.'  
  
'And who would hide weaponry in an educational facility?' questioned Wufei. 'The kids who go to school here are no more than that - kids.' He spoke the word with disdain. 'They have no conception of what kind of a world is out there.'  
  
'You're telling me. If Tekkan is the fighting champion of the school, they sure aren't tough.'  
  
'WAS the fighting champion of the school, you mean,' corrected Wufei, examining a little crevice in the wall, close to the floor. 'We'd better check this out.'  
  
Heero joined him, crouching on the ground. He felt its jagged ridge thoughtfully.  
  
'No, I don't think it means anything,' he said slowly. 'I can feel the stone through it.'  
  
'So?' Wufei was not convinced. 'That might be a cunning decoy.'  
  
Just as Heero was about to argue, there was a loud slam and the steel rope slipped from the trap door and fell to the floor. The Gundam pilots had their pistols out in a second, staring rather disconcertedly at the coiled rope, lying on the floor like a destructive omen. They could just make out the rims of the trap door overhead. It was closed.  
************************************  
The next day, Heero wandered into the school, hoping to reach class early and still have a moment to think. After the frightening interruption, he and Wufei had decided that it wasn't safe to continue their investigations for the night, and had left through the 'back way' - the tunnel under the boulder.  
  
Heero had stayed up longer than that, sending updated information to Doctor J and practising for when the weapon was ready. It had been a long and tedious night, just like this mission was turning out to be, thought Heero wearily.  
  
He had expected to be able to reach the classroom without attracting any attention, but found this was not the case. Two girls walking past him shot him their most dazzling smiles, and one of them addressed him silkily with: 'Hi, Heero.'  
  
After giving them his death look, Heero marched on, but soon met a group of guys - some of which he recognized from various classes - obviously his age.  
  
'Hey, look, it's Heero Yinkomoto, the champ!' called out one of them. And they all quickly had him surrounded. Heero automatically backed away, narrowing his eyes. What did they want, a fight?  
  
But one of the guys pressed a coke into his hand, another one slapped him on the shoulder, greeting him in a friendly manner, and one boy shook his head at him and said in an awed voice: 'Man, I'd like to have your cool. You pull the most amazing job beating up Tekkan, rescue Relena, and then come to school the next day looking as if nothing had ever happened.'  
  
Heero's mind took in the information rapidly. Apparently they were impressed with his fight against Tekkan, and had somehow got wind of that he had saved Relena. But in what situation? Did they know about the trap door, or were they referring to the fact that he had knocked out Santio?  
  
All four guys were looking at him expectantly, and he guessed he had to say something. What would a normal kid say in this situation, he wondered. What would Duo say?  
  
'It was no big deal,' he finally told them, shrugging casually. If the impression they had of him was that of the cool fighter, he would play up to their expectations.  
  
The others were obviously impressed. 'And is it true that Tekkan was cornering Relena with a knife?' demanded one of them in a hushed voice.  
  
So that was the rescue they meant. Heero frowned. They had gotten it all wrong! It had been Quatre who had saved both him and Relena. And how did they know about it anyway?  
  
'Yeah, but like I said, it was no sweat,' acknowledged Heero, gulping down some of the coke he had just been given to wash down the guilt at taking credit for Quatre's work. 'He's just a big coward, no matter what he might seem like.'  
  
'Yeah, I think so too. I mean, does it take a knife to control a girl, or what?' the boy who had slapped his shoulder remarked.  
  
'For him it does,' grinned another of the guys, and the group laughed. Even Heero pulled a wry smile, though more out of the feeling that it was expected of him than out of real amusement. He felt only contempt for Tekkan.  
  
'By the way,' announced one. 'I'm Ryan, he's Damon, and that's Leat.' He waved a hand at his friends. 'Oh,' he added quickly when another boy glared at him. 'And this is Jiran, but he's not important.' More laughter and a fist-fight followed this remark.  
  
While Ryan and Jiran still had each other caught in a head-lock, Damon turned to Heero. 'So, what's your next class?'  
  
The Gundam pilot thought for a split second, then remembered. 'History,' he said dully, disliking the thought of meeting Relena and Tekkan again. Though for very different reasons.  
  
'I know how you feel,' said Leat cheerfully. 'History must be the most boring class in the world. You never learn anything.'  
  
Heero bit back the comment he was thinking of. If only humanity paid attention to history and was careful not to let it repeat itself, history would be very valuable. But with the people closing their eyes like they had done for centuries, nothing would change. Just when one thought there would finally be peace, that all war was over - something like this happened.  
  
'Heero?' asked Ryan timidly, interrupting his thoughts. 'You still there?'  
  
'Oh. Just thinking,' Heero replied quickly and without a change of emotion in his voice or in his face.  
  
Because Ryan was still looking at him curiously, he racked his brains to say something that would rid him of his suspicion. Something normal.  
  
'So, uh, what are you guys doing this evening?' he asked casually. Not that he was interested in whatever party or club they were going to, but it seemed appropriate in his situation.  
  
Jiran's eyes lit up, and he started talking at top speed. Obviously, he was in his element. 'Tonight? There's this really huge party at the Lab - the hottest place in town - and what's more, they're hosting the Cool Cucumber as DJ - this'll be one great night, I can tell you that. We're going, right?' He looked around at his friends expectantly.  
  
'Yeah, whatever,' sighed Damon. 'Anything to keep you happy.'  
  
'What about you, Heero? Want to join us?' Ryan asked eagerly.  
  
Heero's thoughts had been wandering off again when Jiran had been describing the party, but now he began calculating which choice was wiser. Go to the party? Everything in him was repulsed by the thought of it. But what would the others say if he made an excuse?  
  
'C'mon, Heero, it'll be lots of fun,' put in Leat. The 'perfect soldier' was confused. He had almost never been asked to go anywhere - always ordered. Who knew? It might help him with his mission. Then he shook himself mentally. Was he trying to come up with an excuse to go to the party? That was pathetic.  
  
'Don't think so,' he said monotonously. Then he was incredulous at the way Leat's and Ryan's faces fell. Did it mean that much to them that he came with them to a stupid party? Obviously. Heero's emotions were more mixed up than ever. What on earth did they want him for? Was it a trap? This thought put him on his guard even more. His muscles tensed, and he was about to walk away from the group when Jiran calmly stated: 'You could bring Relena Peacecraft.'  
  
Heero actually turned around and stared the smaller boy full in the face in bewilderment. He felt the blood rushing in his head. It was as if Jiran had stripped off Heero's entire disguise and pretence to expose something hidden and uncomfortable. Something forbidden. He responded in just one word that hung in the air like a challenge.  
  
'Why?'  
  
'Well, you're probably the only person she'd go with,' shrugged Jiran, unaware of how tense Heero was. 'She's not into partying much.'  
  
'And since you're the one who saved her, I bet she'd go with you just out of gratitude,' remarked Damon, giving Heero an awed look.  
  
'So?' Heero spoke harshly, and started to walk down the hallway. 'Why would I want to take her?'  
  
'Don't you have eyes?' asked Leat impatiently, following him. Heero felt a stab of annoyance at noticing that the whole group was moving along as well. He had actually wanted to be alone.  
  
'I mean,' Leat added, 'her looks alone would be enough for anybody to feel privileged if he got to take her anywhere.'  
  
'Leave off, Leat,' instructed Damon, who had caught up with Heero and was watching the Gundam pilot with worry. 'Can't you see he doesn't want to talk about it?'  
  
Heero didn't know whether to feel grateful or embarrassed at his comment. It was true that he didn't want to 'talk about it', but putting it this way made the whole thing look ridiculous.  
  
'Hey, Heero, wait up a sec,' Ryan called out behind him. Unwillingly, Heero turned around. The other boy came to an abrupt stop in front of him. His freckled face looked at him uncomfortably.  
  
'We're not trying to force you to do anything with us. But, well, it would be cool. I mean, you just seem kind of lonely and - you know, we thought you might like to find some new friends. And a big party is really the best thing for it.'  
  
While Heero gave him the impassive stare, he was thinking hard. Was Ryan offering him charity? But he remembered the crest-fallen look on his face when Heero had declined his invitation. He wouldn't have been so disappointed if that was the case.  
  
Jiran joined them again, and he was still gazing hopefully at Heero. Why was it so important to them that he came with them? The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like a trap. And a Gundam pilot never let himself be trapped.  
  
But they couldn't do anything to him, he thought contemptuously. Unless they were planning to kidnap Relena . His stomach knotted up. Fine, he bargained with himself. He would see if Relena had any intention of going to the party, and if she had, he wouldn't trust his 'new friends' or come with them. If she didn't, he could check things out. Act normally.  
  
'Maybe I'll go,' he said brusquely, starting to walk again. The hallways were filling up with students laughing, talking in excited voices, and banging locker doors shut. And, once again, awed glances came his way. What was it about beating up Tekkan that made him so special?  
  
'Maybe?' repeated Damon, his serious face cracking into a smile. The whole gang was following Heero, which he wished they'd stop doing. 'Does that mean more yes or more no?'  
  
'Well, I have a, uh, math test on Monday,' Heero said quickly, turning the last corner to his History classroom.  
  
Their answer surprised him. 'SO?' they all shouted impatiently. Puzzled, Heero hurried on. Did grades and tests mean nothing to them?  
  
But a moment later, he had stopped worrying about that. He halted so suddenly that Leat, who had had trouble catching up with his fast pace, bumped into him.  
  
Relena was just entering their classroom, when she caught sight of Heero and stopped short. Her long golden tresses hung down her back, shimmering on her soft lavender blouse. The glittering blue eyes he knew so well regarded him sadly.  
  
Heero was as taken aback as he had been the first time he had seen her at this school. She looked like a melancholy angel, reflecting both the sorrow and the hope of humanity in her eyes. His well-trained sense seemed to switch off while he gazed at her, expecting no reaction, just wishing fervently that she would not disappear from his view; that he could still look upon her celestial beauty.  
  
Something in him pounced upon that word and dragged it into his real conscience, sneering cruelly at him. Beauty, he thought with bitter hatred, since when has that meant anything to me? Beauty was something dream-like people built up around them to shield them off from life's danger and misery.  
  
Remembering his bargain, he hurried up to her before she could enter the classroom and drew her aside, determined not to feel anything when he touched her.  
  
Relena looked up at him in wide-eyed surprise and, again, fear. Heero wouldn't speak to her this openly if there weren't pressing danger.  
  
'Are you going to a party at the - Lab tonight?' he asked her, lowering his voice so Ryan and the others couldn't hear.  
  
'I didn't know there was one. I don't go out much,' Relena answered, startled. But around her shone the faintest glimmer of hope and wonder.  
  
'Good,' was all Heero said, relieved that there had been no trap laid for her so far. But as he turned away from her - again - she caught his arm in a rush.  
  
'Aren't you going to give me an explanation?' Relena asked impatiently. 'What's happening?'  
  
'Just stay out of trouble,' Heero ordered stonily. 'As long as they don't have you, there's not a lot they can do to us.'  
  
And he rejoined Damon and Jiran (Ryan and Leat had left) as quickly as he could, trying unsuccessfully to keep his heartbeat steady.  
  
'Is she coming?' the two guys asked at the same time.  
  
Heero shook his head, eyeing them warily. It would not be the first time that stupid, innocent high school kids turned out to be deadly adversaries.  
  
'Tough luck,' Damon said sympathetically. 'Did she at least have a good excuse?'  
  
'School work,' Heero answered vaguely. As the other two took it for granted that he had just asked Relena to go to the party with him, he would play along with their game. But it surprised him how kindly Damon had spoken. Was he nice to everybody or - did he really want to be Heero's friend?  
  
Jiran looked devastated. 'So I guess that means you're not going?'  
  
The Gundam pilot shrugged. 'Why not? I might as well check it out.'  
  
But even as Damon and Jiran started talking excitedly, he shut out their conversation. For once, he just wished he could hide away in a deserted place and let himself act as miserably as he felt.  
  
For once, he wished he could care less about his mission.  
  
**********************************  
  
'Ah, Miss Relena. How nice to see you again! Can I help you with anything?'  
  
The librarian, who was cross and resentful towards everyone else, was beaming at the young girl.  
  
Relena sighed. She hated being treated better than other people. It wasn't right. Still, she forced herself to smile in a pointedly sweet way.  
  
'Good day, Mrs Narwen. I was hoping you might be able to aid me in the distressing situation I am in,' she said in a suffering voice, inwardly disgusted by the pretence.  
  
'You see,' she went on, 'In my arts class, we are doing architecture at the moment. And our teacher has given us all assignments to create authentic maps of certain places. My topic is our school, but as I was ill for a few weeks, I'm having a hard time catching up on my work. It would help me enormously if you had any maps, blueprints, or suchlike of the school.' She paused and turned her innocent eyes expectantly on Mrs Narwen.  
  
For a fraction of a second, Relena was almost sure she had seen a flash of suspicion and distrust flit across the librarian's face, but the next second she was sure she must be wrong, for Mrs Narwen was smiling at her with genuine pleasure.  
  
'Oh, of course I will check our school files immediately for maps. I'm sure we've got some in the filing cabinet.' She wandered off, still muttering to herself, while Relena leant back against the wall and closed her eyes, relieved to be out of her range for a minute. If there was one thing she hated, it was acting as if she were something better than the other pupils. Many teachers, councillors, and even pupils treated her as exceptional, and left out no opportunity to praise and marvel over her. And she loathed it. She hated it as much as she hated the image of Heero lying on the floor in pain and humiliation, all so that she, Relena Peacecraft, would be saved.  
  
'Miss Relena! Are you feeling alright? You look rather pale. Maybe you haven't fully recovered from your illness?'  
  
Blinking rapidly, Relena hastened to assure the agitated librarian that there was nothing wrong with her. But Mrs Narwen was ranting on: 'And it is really most injust of your teacher not to see to it personally that you receive all the help you can get! It is extremely uncomfortable to be sick for a long period of time and then come back to classes finding there is a huge work load waiting for you.'  
  
While Mrs Narwen continued to lament how some teachers nowadays didn't respect star pupils anymore, Relena's gaze was drawn to the file containers she was carrying. She couldn't make out the labelling, but her fingers itched to just snatch them out of the tedious librarian's hands. No, she told herself. Bear it. Think of the mission. Think of the danger. Think of Duo and Quatre. And, when Mrs Narwen started talking about the 'better society' Relena came from, and the urge to cry out her protest was unbearably strong, she instructed herself, as a last resort: Think of Heero.  
  
He was the reason she bore this. For him she would go against her principles and ideals. If only he would appreciate her for what she meant to him, instead of for her name and what she stood for.  
  
'Well, do you need anything else, Miss Relena?' asked Mrs Narwen, peering at her inquisitively.  
  
'No, thank you.' Relena forced herself to smile. 'It's very kind of you to help me like this and I won't forget it. I'll take these file cases now - they must be very heavy for you.' And finally, though not without a touch of reluctance, the librarian handed over the thick files.  
  
Relena breathed a sigh of relief. She knew exactly where she would take these first thing after school - to Hilde.  
  
*******************************************  
  
As soon as the bell signalling lunch break rang, Quatre headed out of the classroom he was in and down the hall toward the cafeteria. He had had a hard morning, interviewing giggling sixth-graders, who all seemed to say the same thing, about their school.  
  
Just as he was reaching the cafeteria doors, he was stopped by a young girl who caught his arm. Quatre glanced at her in mild surprise, not really paying much attention. Brown eyes . Hazel curls . An impudent smirk on her face .  
  
He froze. This was Tekkan's conspirator! Jerking away from her, he stared suspiciously at the folded paper she held out to him.  
  
'Hi,' she said brightly. 'A friend of yours told me to give this to you.'  
  
'No kidding,' Quatre's voice was sarcastic. 'What a coincidence that the exact same thing happened to another guy here yesterday.  
  
'Isn't it?' she replied, winking cheekily. 'But never mind about that. This is probably a love letter.'  
  
'And how would you know that?' Quatre raised an eyebrow, heart thumping, because the first thing he thought of when he heard those words was Dorothy Catalonia.  
  
'Trust me,' she said, opening her eyes wide. 'She instructed me to give it to you personally.'  
  
'Who is she?' asked Quatre, to win time. He wasn't sure how he was going to tell her off, but she couldn't get away with this one. Another fake note. How stupid did she think they were?  
  
'I think you know that already,' smirked the girl. But then her grin faded as she held out the piece of paper again. 'So take it already!'  
  
'Do you still have that bump on your head?' Quatre asked suddenly. His eyes were uncharacteristically hard.  
  
The girl's face turned into a twisted mask of forced calm. 'Look,' she smiled falsely. 'You can trust me. This is from Dorothy.'  
  
Quatre's heart beat faster, but he refused to show his excitement outwardly. 'Nobody's seen Dorothy for ages,' he said, trying to keep the pain out of his voice. He hadn't seen her since the war was over. 'It must be easy to write a note to me and say it's by her.'  
  
The girl's mouth opened in surprise and she faltered. Clever actress, Quatre thought scornfully.  
  
'You mean - you don't believe me?' she questioned, looking crestfallen. 'What have I done to you?'  
  
At this, the Gundam pilot just snorted. 'Please,' she begged, catching his arm again. 'I'm not in league with Tekkan or anything. It was just a mercenary job, giving that note to Heero. Dorothy trusted me specifically to bring you this. It's important.' Her eyes were wide with meaning.  
  
Quatre wasn't fooled. 'That's what you say,' he retorted shortly. But he took the folded piece of paper. It couldn't do any harm. But he was not going to take anything it said seriously. He was not going to fall for any of that girl's tricks.  
  
*********************************************************  
  
Heero finally entered the cafeteria, still grimacing. It seemed to him that the whole school was filled with girls who wanted to sidle up to him and talk, or bashfully congratulate him for being the new school champion. All he wanted now was to get some peace.  
  
But at that moment, he saw Leat and Damon sitting at a table and waving him over. Sighing, he sat down beside them. Better keep up his high school kid cover.  
  
Leat was mashing up his hamburger; Damon was puzzling over his maths homework.  
  
'Hey, Heero, you know how to solve this? I've got math next class and my teacher is gonna kill me if I don't have my homework again,' he complained.  
  
'So what?' put in Leat. 'Math is something for intelligent idiots.'  
  
'Thanks, pal,' Damon made a face at him, and showed Heero his school work.  
  
Heero pretended to study it, even though he saw at a glance what the answer was. He was just about to say he didn't know the answer, but something in Damon's desperate face expression stopped him.  
  
'You're right,' he said slowly, wondering how to tell him the answer without revealing any cleverness in the process. 'This is hard. But I think we did something like that in math yesterday, so.' he trailed off uncertainly.  
  
'So you know how to do it?' Damon had been hanging onto his every word.  
  
'Maybe,' answered Heero casually. 'See, I think first of all you have to put down this equation.' His pencil flew across the unmarked paper.  
  
'What?' asked Damon, looking frantically between his math book and Heero's sheet of paper. 'What is that?'  
  
Patiently Heero explained. 'It's the area of the rectangle equals the area of the square minus the areas of these four triangles.'  
  
'You guys are so boring,' complained Leat. 'I'm off to find Jiran. See you after school then! And Heero,' he turned around expectantly, 'I'll see you at the Lab tonight, right? 8:00 pm!'  
  
As soon as Leat was out of ear-shot, Damon sighed. 'He's crazy,' he informed Heero. 'And when he's together with Jiran, all hell is on the loose.'  
  
The Gundam pilot stoically went on explaining the math problem to his 'friend', when suddenly he stopped. Damon was staring at him curiously.  
  
Heero raised an eyebrow, and waited for him to say something. At long last, he did.  
  
'Heero? What's up with you and Relena?'  
  
'What do you mean?' Heero narrowed his eyes. He felt backed into a corner, and he didn't like it. As long as he could keep Ryan and the others at a distance, he wasn't troubled. It was when they started asking seemingly innocent questions that he started fighting them off.  
  
Obviously, one glance at Heero showed his suspicion and unease, for Damon sighed. 'Never mind,' he told him. 'It's none of my business, okay? I'll never ask you that question again, okay? I should know by now that you're sensitive about that topic.'  
  
Heero froze. That didn't seem like regular high school kid behaviour to him, so he played it down. 'Oh, it's nothing,' he told Damon in as light a voice as he could muster.  
  
'So why do you nearly get a heart attack whenever anyone mentions her? You do like her, don't you?'  
  
The Gundam pilot's eyes were focused on the sheet of math work; he could see every line on the paper and every smudge of the pencil as clearly as if it had been magnified. He didn't know what to answer.  
  
If he said he liked her, he was just asking for trouble - especially from Tekkan. But there was no real excuse for acting strangely around her if he didn't like her. And the truth would be telling too much. Plus, Damon would never believe it.  
  
'No,' he replied in a voice that seemed distant to him. 'She just reminds me of someone I knew once .'  
  
Damon glanced at him quickly. 'Hey, I don't want to pry. Let's get this math done, okay? I still don't get it.'  
  
As in a dream, Heero finished the quadratic function and gave the paper and book back to Damon.  
  
'Thanks, buddy,' he grinned. 'You're lucky, there aren't many people around here who are any good at math.' Then he added, in a more serious tone: 'I won't even ask you if you're alright; I can see you aren't. But I didn't mean to upset you or anything, just so you know.' And with that, the bell rang and he was gone.  
  
Heero looked after him without one change of emotion. What did he know? He was nothing but an innocent kid.  
  
**************************************************  
  
After school, Quatre cornered Duo outside the gate. When the latter cheerfully asked him what was wrong, he yanked out the note he had received earlier on from the girl with the hazel curls and wordlessly handed it to Duo.  
  
He skimmed the dramatic writing in a second.  
  
Quatre Winner,  
  
Remember me? It's taken me a long time to find you, but I'm near you. I wouldn't be writing to you except that I have suddenly found myself in danger, too. We must meet. With combined forces, we may be able to find a solution to this pressing problem. Come with the bearer of this message tomorrow after the last class to where I am hiding. I beg it of you.  
  
Yours truly, Dorothy Catalonia  
  
P.S.: I have news that might interest you.  
  
'Dorothy?' Duo's eyes were wide. 'How did she get here?'  
  
'I'm pretty sure she didn't,' Quatre answered, smiling a little sadly.  
  
'You mean this is a fake?' asked Duo, rereading the short note. Quatre shrugged.  
  
'I think so. After all, guess who the 'bearer of this message' is.'  
  
Duo shook his head. 'Tell me.'  
  
'That girl I stunned when I came down after Heero and Relena Peacecraft. The one who gave him the message that was supposed to be from Miss Relena, but was, in fact, from Tekkan,' Quatre sighed. 'I'm surprised she actually expected me to believe her.'  
  
'Those girls are crazy,' scoffed Duo. 'But how did they know about Dorothy anyway?'  
  
'They know I'm Quatre Winner. It isn't that hard to connect my name to hers,' he answered.  
  
Duo nodded. 'So what are you going to do about it? Are you gonna go?'  
  
'And find myself in the same fix as Heero was in?' Quatre's voice was sharp.  
  
'I could back you up,' offered Duo.  
  
'It's still too dangerous.' Quatre shook his head. 'I'm not going. That girl can't trick me.'  
***************************************  
'How did you know I was here?' gasped Hilde, as soon as she had gotten over her first surprise at finding Relena Peacecraft at the door to her hotel room.  
  
Relena smiled. 'Catherine let something slip and I persuaded her to tell me the hotel you were staying in. After that, it was easy.'  
  
'I don't believe it,' Hilde muttered, tossing her short hair out of her face. 'I'm going to kill Catherine.'  
  
But she let Relena into her room without another word. Actually, she was glad to have company.  
  
When they had both sat down, Relena looked at Hilde seriously.  
  
'I know you won't change your actions just by hearing me say something. But you should at least listen to my words and understand what I'm saying.' Hilde cocked an eyebrow, but didn't interrupt Relena's speech.  
  
'There is danger in this area, Hilde. I know that word doesn't mean anything to you, and that you've already met death first-hand. But only yesterday, a knife was held against my throat.' Relena touched her neck instinctively, then went on, the emotion expanding in her voice. 'Now I'm afraid. Afraid of what might happen to all the people who go to my school. They don't know what's happening. I don't know either; the Gundam pilots won't tell me anything. But I'm warned. As soon as something out of the ordinary happens, I know I should run. The others don't know that. Do you know the guilt I have had to carry around with me ever since Heero first warned me of danger? There are moments when I just want to scream at the top of my lungs at everybody to get out; get out of this cursed place and survive. But I can't. It would mean death for the Gundam pilots, and I can't betray their lives. There is one thing I can do, though. I can warn you. I can get as many of my friends as possible away from here, even if I can't do anything for my classmates. You must leave. It would be an insult to all the innocent people going to that school if someone who knew their fate still remained here. If you won't do it for me or yourself, do it for those that are innocent.' Relena stopped speaking and looked at Hilde.  
  
Her friend hung her head, but when she lifted it, Relena could see tears in her blue eyes.  
  
'Nice try, Relena,' she said softly. 'But you spoke of not being able to betray the Gundam pilots, and neither can I. I promised Duo I would stay here, and I won't give up that promise. Never.'  
  
**********************************************  
  
In the apartment he had rented, Heero sat in front of his lap top, contacting Wufei about tonight. It seemed a shameful waste of a whole night to spend it partying, but that couldn't be avoided now. He could imagine Wufei's response and knew that the hot-blooded warrior would see it as a personal insult. That was just one of the negative consequences he had to take for his actions.  
  
Heero leaned back in his chair and frowned at his watch. Almost seven. What did one wear to a party like this, anyway? His school outfit - jeans, green tank top, black jacket - would have to do. He couldn't be bothered with fashion when there were so many other important things he had to work out.  
  
Was it right to go through with this? What were Tekkan and his conspirator planning? Could he trust Ryan and the others? Was Relena safe? How was the work on their weapon going? Where was the gundanium alloy? Why was it hidden in the school? Did the crack he and Wufei had discovered in the cave really have an outlet? How had Tekkan disappeared that day when Quatre had turned up just in time? Who was the enemy who was hiding the gundanium in the school?  
  
And - something that had nothing to do with the mission - what had made him kiss Relena?  
  
Heero rubbed a hand over his tired eyes. There were just no answers to all the questions.  
  
*******************************************  
  
'You find anything?' Hilde asked Relena, shuffling through the many stacks of paper on her desk.  
  
'No,' sighed Relena, frowning at an intricate blueprint. 'This even says where the toilet paper should be stored, but nothing about a hidden cave.'  
  
Hilde giggled, commenting: 'How stupid! Who would need to know where the school's toilet paper store is?'  
  
'You're positive there's gundanium alloy at the school?' Relena heard the disbelief in her own voice.  
  
'Vast amounts of it,' replied Hilde. 'Believe me, Duo wouldn't lie to me like that. Besides, I saw the gundanium detector satellite photo.'  
  
'Then can't you detect the exact location?'  
  
'I wish it were that simple,' Hilde said, reaching for another sheet of paper. 'The detector can give us no more than a rough estimate, and it points to the school. We can't trace it any more accurately.'  
  
But a smile was twitching Relena's lips. 'Actually, this is really strange,' she told Hilde, grinning widely now. 'The toilet paper storage is right on the ground floor, in the most deserted spot.'  
  
'So?' Hilde was not impressed. 'That's not strange. I wouldn't like to innocently open a closet and find - bang! - toilet paper rolls raining down on me!'  
  
'True,' Relena agreed, laughing, 'but the bathrooms on the ground floor are all in one place, and it's far away from the storage closet.'  
  
Her companion shrugged, tossing her short black hair in a characteristic way. 'So the person who designed the school was a bit stupid when it came to toilet paper,' she concluded, when the absurdity of the situation overcame her and she exploded into peals of laughter. 'Here we are,' she gasped, grinning at Relena, 'on a dangerous and important mission, and what do we discuss? Toilet paper!'  
  
But Relena had glanced sharply up at the window and exclaimed: 'It's already dark! I have to get going.'  
  
The laughter on Hilde's lips had died, but she just smiled reassuringly. 'Hey, don't get in a flap just because you have to go home in the dark!' she advised, tidying the stacks of paper into the file containers.  
  
'I'm not, I was just surprised that it was already so late,' corrected Relena. She waved goodbye to Hilde and left the hotel still feeling the light of laughter inside her.  
**************************************  
  
Heero could see the neon lights and hear the rhythmical pounding before he reached the club.  
  
As he entered, the noise became deafening, and the flash of the lights nearly blinded him. Dozens of people crowded the dance floor, grouped irregularly into pairs or groups. Their shadows loomed up against the walls in the colourful lights.  
  
Heero kept his head down, pushing mechanically across the crowded dance floor to the tables he had glimpsed on the other side of the enormous room. Hot, sweaty bodies pressed up against him and someone nearly spilled beer on his jacket.  
  
His conscience was jeering at him. How could he have ever hoped to learn anything about his mission here?  
  
'Heero!' someone suddenly yelled in his ear. Instinctively, he spun around and looked sharply into the grinning face of Leat, who had one arm slung around the waist of a girl and was holding a bottle of liqueur in the other hand.  
  
'You've come at a great time,' he hollered, so Heero would be able to understand him. 'Everyone's dancing, except Jiran. He's over there, cooling off!' Leat waved his drink in a vague direction, then turned away again before Heero could say anything.  
  
Shrugging, he pressed on and soon reached the table Jiran was sitting at. The small boy's face and hair was dripping wet, and his eyes were over- bright. He grinned ecstatically when he caught sight of Heero, and waved him over.  
  
'What happened to you?' the Gundam pilot asked nonchalantly, looking at Jiran's wet hair and face. He slid in the seat next to him and cast a wary eye at some other guys also sitting at the table.  
  
'No idea,' answered Jiran brightly. 'Can't remember a thing.'  
  
Heero nodded, not surprised in the least. Jiran did seem like the kind of person who would get so drunk he couldn't remember why he was wet all over.  
  
'We put him in the sink in the washroom,' smirked one of the guys at the table, puffing cigarette smoke into Heero's face. He didn't flinch, but gave the guy his death glare.  
  
'I'll have to go soon,' Heero told Jiran, who just laughed.  
  
Wanting to get away from the guy, who was leering unpleasantly at him, the Gundam pilot left the table and stood in the line in front of the bar to get himself a drink.  
  
When he finally turned away, glass in hand, he ran into Damon, who greeted him happily and appeared to be sober.  
  
Damon led Heero over to the table again, but shortly afterwards, Jiran left, punching all the other guys before he did.  
  
'I still think it really amazing that you beat Tekkan,' Damon yelled over the pounding music.  
  
'What's up with that guy, anyway?' Heero asked him.  
  
'Well, he used to live on the streets before they sent him to our school and before that he's rumoured to have been kicked out of military academy for murder or something.'  
  
Heero whipped his head around and glanced at Damon intently. 'Tekkan was at military academy?'  
  
The other boy shrugged. 'Nobody knows for sure. You can't trust anything Tekkan says about himself or his past, but this is a pretty definite rumour.'  
  
That would explain Tekkan's quick reflexes, Heero mused. But he can't have been there for very long or he'd have had a better chance fighting with a Gundam pilot.  
  
While he was still processing this information, someone whacked him on the back forcefully.  
  
Heero whirled around, muscles tensed, glaring at the enemy he was expecting to see. But in front of him stood Ryan, holding up his hands as if to surrender, a shocked expression on his face.  
  
'Cool it!' he yelled. 'I wasn't attacking you or anything.'  
  
The blood still pounded through Heero's body, but he forced himself to grin and slowly sank back into his chair, watching Ryan warily. He didn't trust him.  
  
He didn't know that in those few seconds when he had been distracted two small pills, ground to powder, had been dropped into his glass and dissolved instantly. He picked up his drink and downed it in one gulp.  
  
**********************************************  
  
So, we're finally at the end of another chapter. Tune in four months later to see if this slow-poke writer has decided how it goes on. Or, more correctly, has managed to type the decision into her ever-annoying computer. Till then, try to find an answer for these so MYSTERIOUS *j/k* questions!  
  
The show's sponsors:  
  
fallen pheniox - *sigh* I noe . glad you like my theory about Heero and Trowa, I was worried about that. Don't worry, u're special enough without spelling your name differently! Here's to an absolutely great friend, Catherine's nothing compared to you!  
  
JOan - you'll be getting an email from me, sorry the chapter took so long .  
  
Kai's Asian Angel - yup, I'd have to agree. H/R is about the best thing . And there will be more of it in the next chapter.  
  
Tabiku Tab Iakkin - Honoured.  
  
Blade Griffin - that's Heero, yes. Very dense.  
  
ice eyes - yea, we can't let Heero suffer too much. I'll do my best!  
  
Ladybug - Soon? Don't know that word!  
  
Callisto Nicol - thanx so much, I love long reviews! Like I said, Heero is dim about stuff like that. And yes, you did have to wait another four months. *big deep sigh* just can't seem to manage to update quickly .  
  
Pink Sakura - I totally agree!  
  
And to the anonymous reviewer whose name got deleted somehow - hey, this story will have a happy ending, don't worry!  
  
Also featuring thanks to fallen pheniox (mentioned above) and my editor, cuty-cat, with hopes for a lot of future works together. (But I still won't forgive you for leaving a review under MY name to my own story! Talk about *erased*)  
  
Creater of series Shooting Jewel 


	10. Prey to Emotion

Hi, ppl, I'm back again! Sorry for the long delay, but I had trouble with first my computer, then my internet access, and then, can you believe it, my computer again! So, here's the next chapter for Mission: Below Me. As we all know, Heero did something very, very bad last chapter. Now let's see the effects!  
  
And any of you who are also reading my HP fic, I'll be continuing it soon. Don't despair!  
  
Hope all of my nice reviewers are still out there somewhere. alright, I'll stop chatting and get on with the story.  
  
Prey to Emotion  
  
The streets Relena hurried along weren't really dark, as the hotels, shops, and businesses she passed were ablaze with a variety of different coloured lights. The city was still alive with cars and the occasional pedestrians at this hour.  
  
Relena made her way surely past the buildings that lined the street, while thinking of her school. It wasn't a great school, where everybody got along with everybody else, and all the teachers were competent and friendly. There often was trouble with groups of boys getting violent, students dropping out or skipping, and she could think of quite a few mean and unfair teachers. But she had friends there, and most of the kids were good - even if they were just kids. They were all innocent, all the people that went there. Relena could just see the destruction, the blood, the screaming students, the lifeless bodies, and, worst of all, the fear in the people's faces - images she remembered only too well from her own experiences. They knew nothing - nothing of the hatred, the fear, the murderous accuracy of war. And she had to keep it that way. She, the Gundam pilots, Catherine and Hilde all had to work together to shield her school from the growing threat it housed.  
  
Suddenly a familiar profile caught her attention on the other side of the street. Her first reaction was a smile, and her arm jerked up to wave at the boy. But the pleasant remembrance of laughing down at that grinning face while swinging up in the air was blacked out by a more recent image - obsessive hatred screwing up the plain but friendly features.  
  
Her arm dropped to her side again, and she hastily turned a corner, away from the direction of her home and the boy across the street, farther into the heart of the city. It hurt to run away from Santio, who had always been a loyal friend, if not a very inspiring one. He had always admired her - with a jolt of shock she realized that he probably thought he loved her - and in their last meeting she had hurt him, when all he wanted was her affection in return. Guiltily she considered going back to him, maybe apologizing, to find out what was wrong, but her feet continued taking her away from him. That knot of disgust and fear in her stomach would not loosen.  
  
************************************  
  
Heero noticed the change instantly. One minute he was sitting normally at the table, trying to find the strategically best way for his withdrawal - it was obvious this place was not the one he was supposed to be at right now - and the next, there was an electric shock through his middle. It was followed by a dangerous, seducing warmth that spread all over him. The beat of the music vibrated in his head, and with a detached disbelief he registered that his hands were trembling.  
  
At first he couldn't think. It took all his control to stop his clenched fists from shaking. Then he tried to sort out what had happened. There were two worlds that kept sliding back and forth, going over into each other. There was Ryan, laughing - and red spots dancing in front of his eyes - and the leering face that belonged to one of Jiran's friends - the table hardly felt solid anymore, it was as soft as a cloud - The other world was the perfect soldier telling him to concentrate; to work out what had happened and how to get the better of it. A soldier never shows weakness.  
  
With great effort born from his harshest training, he clung to the second world and listened to his pilot's instincts. Calm down, he instructed himself. Wait until you've got yourself under control enough so that you can speak without any of this showing. Now make an excuse, any excuse, to get out of this place.  
  
'Hey, I have to get going,' Heero began, trying to address Ryan and Damon, which wasn't easy as they kept moving in and out of his vision. Interrupting the disbelieving protests that seemed to be slipping through endless layers of air towards him, getting quieter all the time, he added, by way of explanation: 'There's an old friend around here I have to go visit.'  
  
His confidence reassured slightly by the fact that his voice didn't shake or betray anything of the chaos inside his body and mind, Heero got up quickly. Although his legs felt as if they were detached from the rest of him, he felt his foot connect with something hard - had he thrown over a chair?  
  
There was no stopping now, if he didn't get out of this place soon, he would go crazy. The music alone was crashing down on him, concocting a pointless aggression inside him. It took all his self-control to refrain from kicking his way through the over-crowded dancing floor. As it was, some shouts and insults followed him as he tried to push through the continually moving mass of people without using too much brutal strength.  
  
Then, finally, he was at the door, finally he could stumble out into the fresh air and feel the door close behind him, shutting out the worst of the music's blare. Exhausted, he leaned against the building, feeling a strange sweat slipping down his back, and trying to gather his wits about him again.  
  
***********************************************  
  
Relena was angry with herself. Well away from Santio, she now felt like a coward, not to mention a fool. She had gone far out of her way to avoid one of her friends, when she should have got to the bottom of the problem instead.  
  
The sidewalk led her past some bars and night clubs. The music with its never varying beat struck out at her from the different lighted doorways. In quick, disinterested glimpses she saw that mostly only older men were sitting in these. All the young people, Relena suddenly remembered, would probably be at the big party everyone at school had been talking about.  
  
'Oh!' Relena breathed suddenly. It was clear that she had found it. The big party at the Lab. She vaguely knew the building, and undoubtedly it was there just to her right. It seemed to be pulsing to the never-ending rhythm of the music and the dancers inside, but there were also a few people outside. Three girls were sitting on the curb of the sidewalk, smoking silently. Relena could also see some couples attempting to hide behind the scraggly bushes that led down one side of the Lab.  
  
And there was a figure hunched against the door. He slowly leaned his head back. Relena stood absolutely still. For although the boy's eyes were closed as if in pain or exhaustion, she knew that if she moved, they would snap open and reveal their unmistakable blue colour.  
  
***********************************  
  
At last the effects of the drug were wearing off. Heero could finally breathe regularly and feel his heartbeat slow down from the maniac speed that had possessed it before to a normal thumping. His body felt tired, his limbs like lead, and his head like someone was tying a too tight bandage around it.  
  
Breathing a deep sigh of relief, Heero let his head roll back against the hard wall. But when he opened his eyes to see if they still functioned properly, his first and only thought was that the drug made him hallucinate. After that, the white-hot heat he thought he had just got rid of took control of him.  
  
There was no more room for rational thought. The only things that existed were Relena's crystal blue eyes, her palely shimmering hair, the whole enchantment around her, and the warmth and desire within him.  
  
************************************  
  
Instead of the cold tirade Relena had been expecting (after all, she was in the one place he had forbidden her to go tonight), she received the strangest look she had ever seen Heero Yuy wear. It was confused and comprehending at the same time, far-away and filled with a tense and very real power.  
  
Relena was tempted to back away, suddenly scared by the unsettlingly potent gaze. But she held her ground; having run from one friend already, she was not about to do it again.  
  
A few swift steps she didn't even realize he'd taken, and Heero was right in front of her. Before she could open her mouth to greet him, or maybe give an explanation for being here, he took one of her hands in both of his.  
  
Relena gasped in a way that did not show on the outside. It was not the movement itself that had amazed her as much as the deliberate intention which it seemed to carry. Any other time they had happened to hold hands, it was purely accidental, or her initiative.  
  
Heero drew her hand against his neck, pressing it to himself. Beneath it she could feel his pulse, quick and erratic. Not daring to speak in case the spell would break, she gazed at him silently, trying to reassure her thumping heart that he did not mean what she thought he did.  
  
It was Heero who broke the silence. Bending his head down so that his right cheek nearly brushed her own, he whispered in her ear: 'Relena.' His unbalanced voice proved that he was not smoothly acting, but sincere.  
  
'Do you care for me at all, Relena?'  
  
For a moment the girl in question was sure that she had fallen asleep at some part of this long evening, laughing about toilet paper with Hilde in her hotel room. This question was out of a fantasy; the kind of thing the hero in a school-girl romance novel asks the heroine just before the first love scene. The question wasn't real, she couldn't answer it.  
  
While she stood, her hand on his neck, the two of them so close together one movement would have made their bodies or faces touch, Heero's tension broke.  
  
It all happened at once. His arms were around her: tight, warm and close. The miniscule gap between them was breached, their hearts and heaving chests now moving against each other. And Relena, without knowing what had happened, could taste Heero's hot dry lips and skin as he sought hers.  
  
This was not like the single tentative kiss he had given her in the light hall of the school. It had seemed beautiful and safe. This was frantic desire overflowing with emotion. Relena forgot about being a decent, sixteen-year-old school girl and indulged in the risk of being a woman - a woman together with the man she loved. But nothing mattered, everything was the same in these moments: heat, coldness, fear, joy, danger, safety.  
  
Their lips parted, both of them catching their breaths. In that moment, when she had time to think, Relena fully felt all the strangeness of the situation: she wanted to kiss Heero, again and again; be held by him and show him just how much she loved him. Which brought her to the second, the most shameful absurdity.  
  
She was in love with Heero Yuy. She knew it and that it was a catastrophe. Heero lived a life where nothing was sure. He could be sent to the ends of the earth or into space on one of his missions in the blink of an eye - and he would always leave her behind. His life was in danger - there had been so many times since she had known him when he had been miliseconds away from dying. He would always have his enemies and be at war with them. Nobody had ever seen him truly express his emotions - for all she knew, he could be just a rational, cold-blooded killer. Even though she inwardly screamed out in protest at this thought, she had no proof. Maybe everything he had ever told her had been a lie, every action an order and not of his own free will. She had no proof that he wasn't, only her strong feeling to rely on.  
  
But what amazed her most was Heero himself. Who would have ever expected the iron-hard Gundam pilot to 'give himself away' like this? It seemed unbelievable. But this expression in his eyes, the catch in his voice when he had spoken to her - it was real, Relena tried to convince herself desperately. Because if it wasn't, then he was betraying her and she could not bear that thought.  
  
Trying to find the proof that would banish the doubts which were gnawing at her happiness, she reached up a hand to stroke his cheek. The desire in her had to be fed.  
  
Heero did not appear even surprised, just turned his head slightly so he could kiss her fingers. This small gesture, so fleeting, so uncharacteristic, made a feeling like everlasting love and joy tingle inside Relena. It gave her courage, and, when their lips moved against each other again, it was Relena who had taken the initiative.  
  
***********************************  
  
It was after midnight when Relena finally and reluctantly decided she had to go. There was no way of knowing how long she had stood in front of the Lab with Heero, exchanging tendernesses. But as it grew late and cold, reality pressed her, and reality meant homework and studying the next day.  
  
'I have to go,' she told Heero in a low voice, not wanting to harm the magic any more than she had to.  
  
'Don't,' Heero whispered roughly, but his arms slid back from around her waist and he took a step away from her.  
  
Now that they were apart, Relena suddenly found the situation awkward, and not only because of Heero's piercing and intensive stare.  
  
'Well, good-bye,' she said after a moment's shifting her weight from one foot to the other, willing Heero to say something. 'I'll see you in school on Monday.'  
  
Nodding vaguely, Heero echoed her words: 'Good-bye.' But he didn't seem to have registered what he had said at all. He seemed - there was no other word for it - spaced out.  
  
Still, Relena left and walked home with happiness and excitement exploding inside her. Heero had kissed her, and not run away, he wanted her; her, not her name or what she stood for, but her, Relena. Her thoughts tumbled over each other, but all of them were so delightful that she didn't mind in the least.  
  
Had she thought a bit more about why Heero had so unexpectedly displayed his emotions, she might have been more prepared for what met her the following Monday.  
  
*****************************************  
  
I, Shooting Jewel, officially admit that this is not only an extremely short chapter, but also one nearly utterly void of action. I duly hope, however, that the increasingly romantic action between the lead characters will compensate these incompetencies.  
  
Drop the formalities. really sorry about the short chappie, hope there'll be another one along shortly. and it would be great if you'd review to tell me if you liked the H/R or not. thanx!  
  
There weren't many reviews anyway, so I'll just leave off mentioning them for this chap - luv y'all!  
  
S.J.  
  
(as edited by cuty-cat, who now calls herself Arabian Knight *^-^*) 


	11. Aftereffects

No, as a matter of a fact, I am not one of those speed writers who can whip up great chapters in a few hours . . . what's more, I had to prepare for a Germany-wide Latin competition. Tough, right? (Wrong, actually it was dead easy, but how was I supposed to know?) Anyway, please continue to bear with me. The fruit of our combined efforts and impatience:  
  
After-effects  
  
The sight of 'his' school, already teeming with students and teachers, seemed like a bomb in innocent disguise to Heero. After Friday night, he could no longer ignore the chattering kids that moved through the hallways. They were dangerous; at least to him.  
  
A kid had gotten the better of him. Heero had woken up on Saturday morning with his heart thudding disbelievingly in his throat. And every one of the hazy pictures he could recall – tipping down the drink, fighting his way outside, standing close to Relena, kissing her – they were all real, nightmare-quality though they seemed.  
  
It was obvious who had drugged him. Damon had been sitting right next to him – probably he and Ryan had cooperated in order to get the drug into his drink. The stupid, innocent high school kids were turning out to be a dangerous blade of steel that he had let too close to his throat.  
  
But he was a Gundam pilot. That steel blade should have been easy for him to evade. Heero had spent the weekend mercilessly setting up a fool-proof theory that explained what had happened and why.  
  
The actual drug was the entire school. Damon, Ryan, Leat, Jiran, Relena – they were all reasons for him losing the control over himself. Lulling his soldier instincts into placated drowsiness, they had managed to take his control away from him. Relena of course had not meant any harm – but in her way she was even more responsible for what had happened. Her soft voice, her smile, and her big shining eyes – they had all served to make him lose his Gundam pilot's honour.  
  
His weekend had not only been a time of bitter thoughts, it had also been dominated by an even bitterer training schedule. He had strained every muscle in his body, grappling vainly for respite from the black sins he had already committed.  
  
Now his mind told him he was tired and aching, but there was a tension in his body that fleetingly reminded him of the feeling on Friday night – except that this time, it felt good. It was what he had done to himself, it was painful – it was the body of a soldier. From now on, he would never act like anyone else.  
  
**************************************  
  
School had always been a pleasant mixture of wisdom and thinking, and laughing and having fun for Relena. Even though she sometimes felt rebellious, thinking of all those people out there she could be helping or motivating, she was content for the moment to finish her education first.  
  
But today she could not have gotten out of bed early enough; the sunlight was promising her things she would never reveal to anyone else. The promise was in her eyes and beating in her heart as she entered the school building and moved with the steady flow of students.  
  
Relena was glad of the distraction her friends provided as they greeted her enthusiastically. Opposite her overwhelming desire to be near Heero was the fear that seeing him again, in the bright daylight and a crowd of people, would somehow harm the wistful magic of that night.  
  
'Oh, Relena, have you heard?' Mina asked her, obviously awed with her news. 'You know Heero Yinkomoto? The guy you lectured after he beat up Tekkan? He's so amazing –'  
  
'I was even there, but I completely missed it!' wailed one girl close to her.  
  
Relena could only grasp onto the familiar name. 'Heero? What happened?'  
  
A wave of excited words crashed over her. Trying to take it all in, she only heard little bits.  
  
'Oh, right, you weren't at the Lab that night –'  
  
' – the guys say it was a double dosage –'  
  
' - didn't even flinch –'  
  
' - so cool, he –'  
  
' – that one's got nerves like steel; not to mention muscles!'  
  
A big cheer of laughter was the reaction to this last admiring sigh. Relena's cheeks turned pink as though they had been talking of how hot her boyfriend was. Of course that wasn't true, but it had not been that long ago that there had been no space for anything thicker than a sheet of paper between the afore-mentioned muscles and herself.  
  
'Don't you get it, Relena?' Mina exclaimed impatiently. 'Some guys put drugs in Heero's drink on Friday night – don't ask me how – and they didn't affect him! They say he was as poker-faced as ever; didn't even get aggressive! The guys had thought they'd finally find out something about the guy – make him be emotional – but it completely backfired, of course.' She stopped for breath. 'Awesome, isn't he?'  
  
Awesome. The word jeered at her as she repeated it in her head. Maybe, if the magic had lasted, she would be telling Mina about Heero's affections at this moment. She had even imaged Mina's reaction: 'Awesome!'  
  
It was as if she had had a puzzle of a beautiful picture, but there was one annoying piece that wouldn't fit. Now somebody had inserted it correctly – shown her where her mistake was and how easy the solution really was – and the picture all of a sudden turned out to be of a bloody execution.  
  
She should have known. An ordinary Heero would never, ever have kissed her and then not run away – no problem for a drugged one. Furious hatred at herself welled up inside her. Idiot, idiot, idiot, she repeated to herself. Some restraint was keeping her from saying the words aloud, but she spat them in her mind. How could she have expected a perfect love like in some romantic comedy movie? Life – at least her life – didn't work that way. She was a hopeless, gullible idiot and it was too late to do anything about it now. The guys had been right after all – their plan had worked – but nobody except Heero and herself would ever know about it.  
  
The only thing she could bitterly hope for was that the tears would only come when she had hidden herself in a place as miserable as she felt.  
  
***************************************  
  
As soon as Quatre entered the school, pale and tired due to a sleepless night studded with dreams of the curly-haired girl laughing at him and suddenly turning into Dorothy, he was pounced upon by Duo, who was looking serious for once.  
  
'Hey Duo, what's wrong?' Quatre asked, alarmed by the grim look on Duo's face.  
  
'Where should I start?' Duo remarked darkly. 'With Heero getting drugged, Catherine missing, or the lack of progress we're making with locating the GA?'  
  
Quatre knew he was referring to the gundanium alloy, but that was about all he did catch. 'That's the first thing I've heard about either Heero or Catherine,' he commented, shaking his head. 'Drugged, missing?'  
  
'Yup, buddy, I'm telling it the way it is,' Duo said with the ghost of a grin. 'Some guys managed to slip Heero drugs; it's all over the school. Probably the 'friends' he's been hanging around with lately. I couldn't believe it either,' he added, seeing Quatre shake his head incredulously. 'But I just asked our number one and he confirmed it himself. Beats me how they did that, and Heero seems really wretched, but the biggest problem is still that Catherine hasn't been communicating all weekend. I checked her place myself, but – gone,' he reported, shrugging helplessly.  
  
Thinking fast, Quatre asked automatically: 'There were no clues as to where she is? No note, no phone number?'  
  
'The only thing I found is this.' Duo yanked a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to his companion.  
  
At first glance Quatre could only see that it was a plan of some kind. But a closer look at the lines and typed writing told him it was an architectural lay-out of a school. 'Is it this school?' he questioned Duo, though he thought he already knew the answer.  
  
The other Gundam pilot nodded moodily. 'Looks like she's been trying to help us with our mission,' he pointed out between gritted teeth. 'Why don't girls ever do what you tell them?'  
  
Sighing, Quatre thought of Catherine's insistence to be told about their secret doings. He knew she would not have listened to him, but he still wished that he had been able to talk to her seriously.  
  
Duo's twin sigh showed that he was thinking along the same lines. 'And it doesn't sound as if Heero and Wufei are making much of a head-way,' he added another gloomy thought. 'Sure, they've found the trap door, but that doesn't mean anything . . . '  
  
'Well, let's go find Relena,' Quatre intercepted his friend's for once pessimistic broodings. 'Maybe she can tell us where Catherine went. And, remember, she wanted to look up the school plans in the library –'  
  
Both guys stopped short and stared at each other for half a second, their faces alike in realization. Then they started walking as quickly as was normal for a couple of reporters, Quatre clenching the piece of paper Duo had found in Catherine's room in his fist.  
  
***************************  
  
If Heero had met Damon in a crowded hallway, he would have simply ignored him. As a supposedly acting inconspicuously Gundam pilot, he was powerless against the crowds of kids. But as it happened, their paths crossed in a half-lit stairway that was off one of the side wings of the school.  
  
'Hey, Heero!' Damon was grinning up at him from the bottom of the stairs, one arm full of books, as Heero came down them.  
  
The fake student smiled dangerously. Now at last he had the chance to prove the soldier within himself again. Dropping his school bag on the floor, he bent down low. The muscles that had been aching a second earlier were stretched taught in the familiar position. His feet pushed off the ground automatically, Damon's eyes widened in amazement as Heero leaped over him, and in mid-somersault he calculated his landing point. Perfectly estimated, he fell in a crouch just behind his victim, and bounced up to firmly place a hand over its mouth and to twist the free arm behind its back in one fluid movement.  
  
Damon's jerk came much too late. He was completely in his capturer's power.  
  
'If you say one word, I'll break your arm. Come with me.' Heero's voice was as cool as it had ever been. As the perfect fighting machine, he thought only rationally and practically. Damon had done him harm: he was an enemy. And that enemy had to be frightened and hurt. He would not hit his face – there must be no blood.  
  
Heero nearly laughed out loud. He was free of the drug; he was calm and calculating and doing his duty – a soldier. It seemed as if Relena had never existed.  
  
***********************************  
  
Catherine got up off the elegant sofa, feeling uncomfortable and stiff from sleeping on a space that was too narrow and small for her, but the only alternative was the bare wood floor.  
  
Like she had done the morning before, she walked over to the long windows and slipped her fingers in the spaces between the forbidding bars that criss-crossed across the glass panes. There was only room for three of her fingers, and her nails could barely scrape at the glass. She had not really expected the unrelenting bars to suddenly bend, but she was sure that there had to be some way out. It was not possible that she had been shut up in a completely impenetrable prison.  
  
Her view had not changed from the day before. She still looked out on an enormous bright green lawn surrounded by obviously high concrete walls that limited her view to a few skyscrapers and otherwise only the wide, slightly hazy blue sky.  
  
Except that last morning, the wide empty lawn had been dotted with figures. Catherine had spent some of the long tedious hours watching the young men below. And what she had seen had made her worry even more.  
  
They had been training. Having seen enough for her taste of Trowa's long martial arts training routines, she had no difficulty in identifying the soldiers for what they were, even though they wore no uniform. She was not close enough to see more than their outlines, but the sharp sparks of silver that flashed up in the sunlight could only be guns, and the round shields they were facing were undoubtedly targets.  
  
Disappointed in her half-hearted hope, Catherine turned her back on the now motionless scene outside, and glanced around the room.  
  
It looked exactly like an elegant sitting-room: there was the sofa she used for a bed, two chairs in the same style, a smoothly carved coffee table on which there was a generous supply of crackers, chips, biscuits and plastic- wrapped sandwiches next to a several huge bottles of water. A modest chandelier hung from the monotonously painted ceiling. There was a plain bathroom adjoining the 'sitting-room'. That had been her world for the past two days, ever since she had received the message from Trowa on Saturday morning.  
  
****************************  
  
'What the hell is wrong with you?' Damon's voice trembled and he raised one arm feebly to hide his pain-filled and scared face from his attacker.  
  
Heero glanced at him in the dim light of the unused storage room they were in. He judged that Damon had been beaten enough, now he only had to round it off with some threats.  
  
Straightening up, he looked the boy who was lying on the floor straight in the eye. Something in his eyes made Damon's widen in even greater fear.  
  
'Take my advice and stop meddling with drugs; you could end up in a lot of trouble,' Heero stated. 'And don't try to get the better of me again. It doesn't pay.'  
  
While he said this, Heero took in Damon's state contemptuously. Somehow he had come to see a sort of wisdom, a shrewdness, in the guy, but when he was under a real threat, there was no difference between him and any other scared, pathetic kid.  
  
Damon's arm dropped and he groaned in pain and disbelief. 'God, Heero, you nearly kill me for something like that? I didn't even do it, just for your information. It must have been Leat's gang, and I am NOT responsible for their actions.' His voice died out hoarsely at the end of the sentence and was shaken by a cough.  
  
Heero stared at him in cold refusal to accept the story. Wincing as he shifted his position, Damon started again: 'I know the story of your being drugged is all over the school, and I thought there was something wrong with you at the time, but –' He shook his head and let it slide back onto the floor. 'It's not like it even affected you.'  
  
A sudden despair choked Heero's calm triumph. Relena's touch – her lips on his – her warm body – it was all unforgivable. And he couldn't change it; couldn't erase this horribly vibrant black spot that was worse than all the blood he had ever spilled.  
  
'You don't know anything,' he said roughly, not even seeing Damon. But he heard his voice.  
  
'Heero?' it asked quietly. 'It did affect you, didn't it? But as long as you just do it once, that's not really bad. It shows you things inside you that you haven't even realized yourself, just more pronounced. Not that I'm saying it's good to get high, but it can sort of set your emotions free, you know? What you really feel.'  
  
What he really felt. Relena; beautiful, strong Relena, in his arms . . . for the first time, he remembered how he had kissed her before, in the hallway. Had he felt desire and happiness at that moment?  
  
Heero's eyes and self-destructive hatred focused on the helpless figure watching him expectantly from the ground. 'You don't know anything,' he repeated through his gritted teeth. 'You're just a kid.'  
  
The last punch he administered to Damon came from frenzied anger, not the calculating soldier, and his victim screamed in pain for the first time.  
  
********************************  
  
That was it, I suppose . . . don't worry, the plot is still unwinding (I'm figuring it out as I go), and we'll make a high school kid out of our poor Gundam pilot yet! I'm referring to Heero, of course, don't think Duo or Quatre need much help . . . though maybe Wufei and Trowa could do with some lessons. The next chapter will be longer, and bring us a big step closer to the climax and the end of the story. Promise! *hastily crosses her fingers behind her back*  
  
Please be patient, O Reviewers, and don't desert me!  
  
Giss – sorry bout that, I don't seem to be able to update 'quickly' at all, I should write that word on my comp every time I pass it, maybe that would help. Thanks for all your faith!  
  
anonymous - I know, I don't think anything in GW can beat Heero/Relena, it's the best ship there is. Please don't go crazy on me, I need your advice on this chap. *grins*  
  
Pink Sakura – I'm glad you liked the romance, myself, I thought it a bit too outdrawn . . . but you're welcome to this next, romance-free chapter!  
  
Callisto Nicol – Maybe I should email you, if you get that upset at not getting to read my chapters sooner. OK? Do you read mysteries, by any chance? Cause you're a pretty good detective; I won't say any more now, it will spoil what little plot there is! *winks*  
  
Inferna – well, I don't think Heero would kiss Relena and not run away immediately afterwards if he wasn't being influenced by SOMETHING. Sorry it had to be the drug, but it's a good excuse to put some H/R into it!  
  
May – thanks, it seems that every time I put romance in a chapter, my reviewers suddenly wake up! See you!  
  
Aristale Wolf – no fear of me stopping the story, it's just a question of how long it will take me to finally finish it . . . I just have to tell you that Threatened Dancer (one of my other two stories) sucks, so read at your own risk. *grins*  
  
anonymous – well, I think Heero looks way too good to be an average high school kid, but otherwise I'm trying to make him into one! *evil grin*  
  
Nonsequitur – are you still reading this? It's been, like, how many months since I updated? Three? *sighs* hey, at least I'm trying! the_painter – yea, sorry this one took so long to be put out!  
  
Erinamation-limited2 – I still don't get exactly what you mean by that review, but I'll take it as constructive criticism, ok? Can't be that far off.  
  
Cheers, everybody! Drink to the health of my editor, Arabian Knight! (hm, she was very quiet about this chapter . . . probably didn't even read it properly *j/k*)  
  
Shooting Jewel 


	12. A Place to Die in

A/N: How am I going to find a name for this chapter? Should I just call it in-between-thingy and leave it at that? No, I'll settle for:

* * *

**A Place to Die in**  
  
An all-powerful crying fit and an intensive splashing of her face with cold water later, Relena emerged from the girls' washroom, anxiously making sure no one from her 'crowd' was around. Though she would have to face them sooner or later, she needed to adjust to being Relena Peacecraft, the strong friend and symbol, the person who believed in true peace and faced any obstacle with that belief, again. Right now she was the opposite: a girl crying her heart out for a soldier whose ambitions were the opposite of pacifism. In time, she knew, that powerful dream of world peace would regain its old importance in her heart, but for the moment it seemed a shadow hardly worth living for. Or sacrificing for.  
  
Suddenly she felt a hand at her elbow and a low voice greeted her: 'Hey, Relena.'  
  
Turning her head so fast it nearly dizzied her, Relena was disappointed in what had hardly been a hope – she had known the voice wasn't Heero's. Duo was at her side, his big eyes for once grave, not laughing. Right behind him was Quatre, his face drawn too, looking at her with a half-hopeful, half-stern glance.  
  
Trying to smile normally, she asked: 'Hey, Duo, Quatre, what's up?', thinking that there was no way she would be able to fool them, especially if they knew the whole story. But as far as she knew, nobody else had witnessed the magic that night, and even if Heero could remember, it wasn't like him to tell the other Gundam pilots.  
  
'_What's up_ is not good,' Duo remarked darkly. 'Catherine's missing and Heero –'  
  
Here he was gently interrupted by Quatre: 'Did you show the blueprints from the library to Catherine, Relena? It's urgent.'  
  
Even in her miserable state, Relena was taken aback. 'Yes . . . I did; I took them to her place and we studied them. We didn't find anything though,' she added, seeing the worried faces in front of her.  
  
That didn't seem to have any effect. Duo brought his fist to his fore-head, muttering 'stupid, stupid, stupid girl' under his breath, while Quatre grimly showed her a crumpled bit of paper. 'Is this part of one of the prints?' he demanded.  
  
Alarmed by the urgency in his tone, Relena took the paper and studied it. 'Probably,' she concluded. 'That corridor set-up looks familiar. Why? Where did you find it?'  
  
'At Catherine's,' Duo answered. 'Do you have the rest of the plans?'  
  
'No,' replied Relena, mystified, 'I left them at her house.'  
  
'Well, that was all I found of them there. She must have taken them with her.' Duo and Quatre exchanged exasperated looks.  
  
'You don't mean . . .' Relena began, her heart beating. She had forgotten about her own misery for the moment.  
  
'It's likely that she found something, went off exploring on her own, and – well, hasn't come back yet,' Quatre finished uncomfortably.  
  
While Duo started ranting: 'We told her not to go messing in our stuff; we **told** her, and now –', Relena slowly came to grips with the new information. Catherine – her strong, optimistic friend – was missing; was maybe in danger. One of the lone voices of true friendship which existed in Relena's world was gone.  
  
'We have to find her,' she said wildly, 'we have to look – anywhere – '  
  
Duo laughed hollowly, while Quatre explained gently: 'We don't know where she is, Relena. And anyway, it's too dangerous for you to do anything like –' A torrent of fitful, dramatic words which were unfortunately not put together into a proper speech yet interrupted him. Getting the general message, he said firmly: 'However, Heero and Wufei have found a new lead, which all four of us will be investigating tonight. **No**,' he added in as loud a voice as he dared, to speak over Relena's passionate protests, 'we can't take you with us into this possibly – even probably – dangerous situation. You're not trained for this work. Remember what happened last time.'  
  
The last remark quieted her. Her fear and tension, Heero's humiliation, Tekkan's sadistic malice – they were all very real still. Numbly, she nodded.  
  
'Right,' Duo said briskly, 'we'd better move on, it doesn't look good if we keep hanging around you. Some people might get jealous.' With a meaningful smirk at Relena, he and Quatre went off along the corridor, both looking very normal and inconspicuous.  
  
As she stood gazing after them, a very small voice behind her asked: 'Relena?'  
  
Turning around, she saw that it was Santio. Her stomach clenched immediately in reaction to her new dread of him. Though he didn't look remotely dangerous now – more like a lost puppy in the rain, pleading for someone to let him in.  
  
When she just looked at him wordlessly, he began in a rush: 'I would ask you to go somewhere more private to discuss this, but I know you wouldn't and I don't blame you . . .' A wry, apologetic smile twisted his lips. 'But I want you to know that I'm really sorry for what happened. I can't explain it – I – I just love you so much, Relena –' He broke off, hanging his head.  
  
Relena felt a flutter of painful sadness in her heart. At the moment the world seemed too cruel to bear. Heero had been hurt since the day he was born and still didn't know where he belonged. Hilde and Relena had to live in fear that something was going to happen to the Gundam pilots. Catherine was somewhere they couldn't reach her, alone without help. A whole school of innocent pupils was in danger every second. Relena had just been wounded almost past enduring by the treacherous magic of her caring for Heero. And here was Santio, confessing his love to her, and obviously being torn almost to pieces by it. Why did all that sadness have to be lived with?  
  
Then she felt the Peacecraft strength calm her. At least she could do her best to ease Santio's pain a bit.  
  
'I don't blame you for what happened, Santio,' she said softly, watching him slowly raise his head. 'We shouldn't let that stand in the way of our friendship. You've been –' Her voice caught in a small sob as she remembered his devoted face – and Heero's cold one. '– so good to me. I hope you will forgive me if I can't care for you the same way you do for me.'  
  
A bitter heaviness made his face fall, but the next moment the most tragic smile she had ever seen was on his face and he offered her his hand. 'Friends?'  
  
'Friends,' Relena agreed, taking his hand and shaking it. A small smile twitched on her face as she thought of the ridiculousness of the old ritual in a situation like this. There was something heart-wrenching about it all.  
  
'Well . . . I'll see you around,' Santio said softly. All she could do was nod.  
  
But just as he had left, a sudden inspiration came to her. It must have been all the talk about love, a mischievous voice in her head noted. Suddenly, she had a weapon against Duo.  
  
As she turned around to finally walk on, a triumphant and optimistic smile shone on her face.  
  
A figure in the background watched her smugly, new thoughts already racing along familiar tracks of the mind.

* * *

Having left Damon to his moaning, Heero walked quickly through the school, ignoring the fact that he seemed to be almost a hero for a lot of the students of his age. Apparently the news of Relena's rescue and his resistance to the drug had found a wide circle of people.  
  
Heero couldn't begin to imagine why he was so interesting to so many people at school when all he wanted was to be invisible and unnoticed by anyone. That had been his original aim, and somehow he had been completely knocked off course. When had it begun?  
  
Trying to hide under the long pieces of brown hair that hung into his face, he mentally back-checked everything that had gone wrong in this mission. At the beginning, there was the mission itself. Incognito, no killing allowed – not his kind of task. Then Relena had come into it as a big mistake. One who recognized him for what he was. That had led to the trouble with Tekkan – and, unfortunately, the fight. Another big mistake. It basically made him school champion – and very famous. Tekkan hadn't been able to take that and had kidnapped Relena, which in turn led to everybody thinking Heero had been the rescuer instead of Quatre.  
  
A suddenly distant look was about Heero's eyes as his brain sped through his train of thoughts. Why did people know about that 'rescue' at all? The only witnesses had been Tekkan, Relena, Quatre and himself. He was sure Quatre hadn't mentioned it to any outsider, and **he** certainly hadn't. Tekkan wouldn't have breathed a word, since it could wreck what was left of his fierce reputation. And Relena was also under the Gundam pilots' oath to secrecy. He couldn't imagine her breaking it . . . Although the experience had traumatised her somewhat – he could still see the wild fear in her face and hear her desperate sobs as Tekkan threatened her – Relena was capable of handling it. Relena was strong, Relena was –  
  
' – Relena is a desired object, don't think you're the only one after her!'  
  
The low voice cut cruelly into his memories. It came from just around a corner, where, as far as he knew, there was nothing but an out-of-order drinking fountain. And voices, now.  
  
'Well, who would have thought it? Baby suck-up is **jealous**, are you after her precious suitors?'  
  
Heero had paused, letting the current of moving students wash by him, his hand automatically straying to the pocket where he kept his gun. He knew which people were speaking, even though the girl sounded very different now than she had when talking to him.  
  
'You're such a pathetic loser,' she hissed, sounding enraged. 'Drop out of military academy, come to some loser high school, get kicked out of the Army Gang, and you don't even manage to pull off your latest pathetic – ow!'  
  
A sharp gasp of pain followed her words, a thump, and a squeal.  
  
'Don't you dare, Tekkan – I'll scream, I swear I –'  
  
All the news he had heard in the last minute came together in Heero's mind. There was only one way to get the information he desperately needed to finally end this insane mission and get out of here.  
  
His fingers clenched around his gun, he swerved around the corner. The scene was as he had expected it: Tekkan, his back to him, had just raised his fist again; the girl with the hazel-coloured hair was protecting her face behind her folded arms.  
  
'Turn around slowly.' He saw Tekkan's back and raised arm stiffen at his words, the threat not concealed by his monotone.  
  
Eyes almost black with hatred, Tekkan glowered at Heero's secure grip of the gun pointing at him. But two soldiers understood what they wanted from each other – Tekkan left instantly and without a word; Heero carefully lowered his weapon.  
  
**'Heero!'  
**  
The girl's eyes were wide in admiration and helpless subordination. Heero wondered briefly how she could make her face lie for her so well.  
  
'Oh, thank you – you're so brave – you don't know how **scary** Tekkan gets, it's –', she broke off, her voice catching artistically.  
  
'Tekkan can't scare you in a public place,' Heero said impatiently. What the hell did she want to achieve with her dramatics anyway? She knew that he knew all she had to do was yell and be rescued the next second. At least in this place . . .  
  
The real fear in Damon's eyes, his scream, the hatred Heero had felt – it all rushed back to him, and wouldn't leave till the soldier tensed his muscles to attention.  
  
'He certainly couldn't scare **you** anywhere,' the girl put in, cleverly drawing the conversation away from her situation. Then, as this had no apparent effect on Heero, she held out her hand: 'By the way, I'm Marisa Acton. And like I said, I'm really thankful to you. Any favour I can grant you –' She looked up at him slyly.  
  
Heero's mind was running along entirely different tracks. 'Suits me, you can answer some questions I have,' he answered without even glancing at the still out-stretched hand. 'What's the Army Gang?'  
  
'Army gang?' Marisa asked, puzzlement dawning on comprehension in her eyes. Her hand slowly sank back down. 'Oh, you mean the one I mentioned to Tekkan? He's such a baby, isn't he –' She stopped short.  
  
Heero had his gun in his hand again, and this time it was pointing straight at her. Her features froze in a dumb shock.  
  
'Fortunately,' the Gundam pilot explained in his standard neutral voice, 'as long as you have a gun, you **can** threaten someone anywhere. ' A second's silence passed between them.  
  
'Now, don't mess with my time anymore and tell me what the Army Gang is. I'll settle for just the facts.'  
  
Marisa swallowed, but she relaxed somewhat when he put the gun away. 'It's a group Tekkan used to belong to; they do martial arts and stuff like that. But nobody knows who exactly is in it or how you join. You just hear about it from the guys at school.' Everything was said in a rush, for once without any dramatic accentuating.  
  
An army gang – an army – a weapon. The school was in it deeper than he had thought. And apparently some students were directly involved, while the majority only heard the rumours.  
  
He nodded curtly. Tekkan would be a more revealing informant, if he could only get his hands on him. What else could Marisa tell him?  
  
'How do you know about the cave under the school and its secret entrance?'  
  
Marisa shrugged. 'Tekkan.'  
  
'No kidding. And how does he know about it?' Heero was growing impatient.  
  
'Oh, probably from the Army Gang,' she replied casually. 'Though they can't meet there anymore – every time I'm down there it's deserted.'  
  
Another connection. All this had to have something to do with the gundanium alloy, with his mission. Dead-pan face and voice, he threw the big bait:  
  
'What about the other cave, are they using that one?'  
  
Holding his breath, he scrutinized her reaction. An inward look of confusion, a wrinkled brow and a shrug. 'I don't know any other cave, that's the only one Tekkan's shown me.'  
  
No matter how he fixed her with his death glare, she looked back innocently puzzled. A clever actress – or the truth? Well, he knew her to be the former.  
  
Well, whether she knew about the cave or not, he wasn't going to get anything more out of her from that angle.  
  
He was already turning away when a question suddenly came to his mind. 'Why do you hang around Tekkan? He's a criminal and a coward.'  
  
'But he's a **soldier**,' beamed Marisa dreamily. 'I like soldiers.'  
  
Heero nearly laughed with bitterness. She certainly had something to learn.  
  
'Tekkan is the worst example for a soldier I've ever seen. No soldier worth his post would beat up a girl just because she insulted him.' He looked pointedly back at her.  
  
Marisa's eyebrows rose. 'So you wouldn't?' she asked challengingly.  
  
When he shook his head, she giggled. 'Wimp,' she exclaimed, brushing past him with exuberant triumph.  
  
Her insult hadn't raised Heero's anger, only his general disgust with the world. What kind of a place was this to live in, where girls not over sixteen were already hardened to violence and admired it?  
  
As he stood there looking at her receding bouncing curls, the answer came to him. This wasn't a place to live in. For him, it was a place to die in.

* * *

As the bell rang dismissing class, Duo and Quatre got up quickly – Duo waving cheerily at a couple of girls he had chatted with during the lesson, and watching them blush madly in return – and headed out the door.  
  
'Remember, Wufei and Heero want us to help them tonight,' Quatre reminded the other would-be-reporter.  
  
At this, Duo sighed. 'Man, they always act like they're the tough guys, and then they rope us into their stuff. For all they know, we could be busy tonight.'  
  
Quatre smiled to himself at Duo's exaggeratedly grieved tone. 'Why, what most important business do you have to do?'  
  
'Well. . .' Duo pretended to be thinking. 'I've seen any number of cute girls around here, surely one of them has the evening off. . .'  
  
As Quatre was laughing and shaking his head at what he hoped was Duo's joke, a girl's voice sweetly interrupted their conversation.  
  
'You mean, a girl like me?'  
  
Both Gundam pilots spun around to face the eavesdropper. Quatre recognized the hazel curls and impish smile immediately, and felt his body tense in a defensive reaction. For one thing, she knew his true identity. And he wouldn't put it past her to use it as a weapon on him.  
  
'Well, I hope you haven't got _important business_ to do,' the girl said, facing him directly. Lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper, she added: 'Dorothy's expecting you.'  
  
'And what is your proof?' Quatre asked coolly. His heart had begun beating quickly at the mention of Dorothy's name. But he couldn't trust this person who had already been identified as a fraud working for Tekkan – or could he?  
  
'I gave you the letter,' she insisted, drawing her eyebrows together perplexedly. 'You **know** she needs you.'  
  
_She needs you._ Quatre stared off into the distance for a moment. He wanted desperately to see Dorothy, especially if she wanted his help. But he couldn't afford to have a trap set for him, like it had been for Heero. His duty as Gundam pilot in this mission was to stay alive and find the enemy. To save the school and its innocent pupils, not to mention a whole nation which could be brutally eliminated with the weapon this building was keeping in dark hiding.  
  
The choice was his.  
  
Silently begging Dorothy to forgive him if it was indeed true, he said levelly: 'I don't believe you.'  
  
And, ignoring the anxious protests that came from the 'messenger', he turned wordlessly to Duo, who had been waiting in silence, and exited the school with him.

* * *

A/N: Humour? Zero. Action? Zero. H/R? Zero. Happy ending or at least cliffhanger? Nope. I'm afraid you're reading the wrong fic if you expect all chapters to contain all of the above. However, I solemnly swear to try to bring out a brand-new chapter bursting with action and romance as soon as I humanely can. While you're waiting for it, try to guess at certain mysteries and decide if Quatre chose right or not! (This might not be on your list of Top Ten Favourite Activities, but you could spare a minute on it and tell me in a review. If you want to.)  
  
Love you and your reviews:  
  
Inferna – absolutely right, it's going to take the entire story till Heero gets ANY clues on his feelings and how to show them!  
  
Yuerohye – Do I look like I would just give up a story? No way. Unfortunatly, I might leave it alone for a few months . . . but not likely this time!  
  
tiff – thanx, I'm so happy for me that I've got nice reviewers!  
  
SabreHero - nice name You should know by now that I never update soon! Always do my best though.  
  
Mollyperson – Yes, sir. Order taken to heart. Sorry you had to wait foreva for this chappie too.  
  
yasuru01 - thank you for the 3 reviews!  
  
Nichi-chan – sorry, you'll have to wait a while for Trowa to come into it . . . though he'll make it in the end, don't worry. Who do you think qualifies as a rival, Tekkan or Santio? Somehow not either of them. sighs I'll make Heero fess up in one way or another though!  
  
angelofdarkness – yes, POOR Heero. I am SO sorry for him. snickers evilly I sort of forgot bout Catherine in this chapter, she'll be in the next one then! So long!  
  
Nubia – an email is on its way! Thanks for the interest, it really motivates me!  
  
wingsstars07 - nice idea. . . Heero has to ask a girl to the prom dance. hehe I'll see when I can fit it in, thanx!  
  
ebacusta – well, that IS the question, right? Though I don't know if that many ppl are interested in Tekkan's fate. But I'll keep it a secret till the end, k?  
  
Mint – yes, wouldn't things be much easier if guys (especially Gundam pilots) didn't have their stupid male ego thing to stop them from doing that kind of thing? On the other hand, what would happen to the story? Confrontation coming up. grins  
  
Jaime – damn, the fic just lost all its potential! I'll still inform you though, no prob!  
  
Nonsequitur - I can't promise romance for a while. Very sad, I know. . . but maybe this update wasn't TOO late?  
  
CrimsonD - H/R confrontation coming up! Though I'm afraid it's going to be sad (and frustrating) more than anything . . .  
  
Erinamation-limited2-nothing – that's great, hope you come back for more!  
  
Pink Sakura – sometimes I'm tempted to agree with you . . . though it doesn't always work out for our #1!  
  
That's all for now! whew  
  
Shooting Jewel 


	13. The Intrigues Thicken

A/N: I'm really sorry for abandoning my creative works and all my beloved readers for academics, but there it is. I entered the second round of a Germany-wide foreign languages competition and couldn't think of anything but Latin for a long time. Now, to compensate, I'm not thinking about it at all. Hope this chappie is at least partly worth the long wait!

The Intrigues Thicken

That night four silent figures met on the dark school grounds by the large boulder which marked the second entrance to the cave. They acknowledged each other with a nod, quickly and noiselessly moved the boulder, and slipped down into the tunnel.

Not a word was spoken until they reached the big cave. The Gundam pilots were usually silent on this sort of mission, but Catherine's continued absence added a note of gravity to the situation. The only place they could find a clue to her disappearance was here.

After a brief inspection, Heero and Wufei found the crevice that had attracted their attention a few nights before. After he had chipped a small hole into the back of it, Wufei thrust a hand-grenade into it.

Quickly everybody flattened themselves onto the floor, covering their ears to block out the noise of the explosion.

When they got up again, there was a very large hole in the wall of the cave – but no secret entrance. Heero exchanged a quick glance with Wufei, thinking 'I told you so' but not saying anything.

'Ok, new plan,' Quatre whispered. 'Let's inspect the entire cave for anything suspicious. Tekkan couldn't have vanished into thin air, and he couldn't have used either of the entrances we know of. So there must be some other way.'

The other pilots didn't argue and got to work straight away.

The next morning, however, new life filled the school again. All the darkness was gone, and though there was an air of suppressed secrecy about, the giggles and unsaid words spoke of excitement and wistful dreams.

It made Heero Yuy feel even more uncomfortable than ever as he walked down the hall, past groups of girls whose laughter and whispers seemed to increase as he passed them.

Methodically, he went through everything that had happened in the last 24 hours that might have leaked out to the other pupils. Had Marisa been talking again?

Suddenly, he caught sight of Ryan. Heero's eyes narrowed. The last thing he wanted was to listen to another cheerful tirade of talk from the guy who might – or might not – have had something to do with the drugs in his glass.

Quickening his pace, he tried to blend into the crowd of kids streaming from lockers to classrooms. There was an especially large group coming towards him, if he could only take temporary cover inside it . . .

Determinedly keeping his head down, Heero tried to push his way into the center of the group. Only when he heard the gasp 'Heero!' did he look up.

Relena stood before him, an apprehensive expression on her face. She's scared I'll freak out again, Heero thought, remembering . . .

. . . kissing her, stroking her silky hair, feeling her heart beat against his in a unison of longing, Relena placing her soft lips on his . . .

The last image startled him; he had not seen it before. The recollection of it had only been called forth when he confronted Relena for the first time since that night.

Relena had kissed him back.

While trying to analyse what that meant, Heero gave Relena a fleeting glance and uttered one word: 'Hi.'

He was going to push his way on, preoccupied with what his memory had just revealed to him, but the girls surrounding Relena didn't seem to want to let him pass. As a matter of fact, they all appeared to be whispering loudly to her.

'Ask him! Now's your chance! Ask him, Relena!'

Heero looked at the group, nonplussed. Something had happened since yesterday that made all the girls in this school even crazier than usual.

Relena glanced at him, blushing. She could probably guess that he had caught every word. 'No,' she hissed to the excited girls. 'Come on, let's just go . . .'

'What is it?' Heero asked briefly. If it was anything that meant trouble, it was better to find it out at once. Though at the moment he felt more like he really didn't want to know.

Relena opened her mouth, but before she could speak, a girl next to her did: 'Didn't you know, Heero? There's going to be a formal dance at school on the weekend.' She paused, probably waiting for some sign of recognition from the Gundam pilot. When none came, she added meaningfully: 'And Relena doesn't have a partner. Yet.'

'None of you have one yet either,' Relena said in an exasperated tone. 'Why don't you ask Heero?' She avoided looking at him as she said it.

Heero shrugged. 'You could always take Santio,' he suggested, raising one eyebrow ironically.

'Yes, I could ask him,' Relena declared, blushing defiantly. The girls around her, however, seemed less pleased with the suggestion. One of them turned confidingly to Heero.

'Santio's boring,' she told him. 'I mean, we all know he's been in love with Relena for years – but he's such a weakling. Relena likes the strong silent type, you know.'

A hoot of laughter came from the girls, who all seemed to be having a lot of fun. At his expense. Heero couldn't for the life of him see anything funny, and Relena looked ready to murder the girl talking to him.

'Stella!' was her anguished whisper, and she tugged at her arm. 'We have to get to class, remember?'

But Stella turned back to Heero: 'So, do you want to take Relena as your partner?'

The girls giggled delightedly while Relena looked at the floor for a second, cheeks bright pink, obviously completely embarrassed. But she soon caught herself again, looked straight at him, and announced: 'Well, I'm going now. Even if nobody else here minds being late, I do.'

She was about to walk by him when he put out a hand and gently took hold of her arm. Relena spun around and stared at him, hope and panic clashing on her face.

Now that he was holding her he could not believe he had done it. But his gesture had been prompted by the feeling of Relena's lips touching his. And now he couldn't back out of it. He had gambled everything on one tiny particle of memory. But it was one thing he could not argue with.

'I'll go with you,' he told her in a low voice.

For a second, she just stared at him. Her eyes seemed to say What on earth is going on, but finally her lips formed the tiniest smile he had ever seen on her, and she nodded.

'See you then,' she said weakly.

This time he let her and her crowd of laughing friends go. Watching the sunlight catch in Relena's gold hair, he wondered seriously to himself how something this amazing – this new – this hopeful could arise from what he had thought was the biggest mistake he had ever made.

Catherine finally had a plan of escape. By accident she had come across a hidden camera in her 'prison'.

The plant had puzzled her for awhile. After all, nobody had come to water it since she had been put here. How could it still be green? More out of boredom than anything else, she had inspected it and discovered that it was fake – and that there was an elaborately concealed glass lens sticking slightly out of the dry earth.

Now, having worked out a plan to at least leave this room - whatever else was going to happen to her after that – she picked up a chair and held it so that one of its legs was directly above the camera lens. Then, with a jerk, she brought it swiftly down.

There was a crash of glass. She had broken the camera. Now surely when they didn't receive any picture from this room they would come to investigate.

Arming herself with the chair, Catherine stationed herself on one side of the door and waited.

After wandering around aimlessly through the mostly-empty hallways in the school for a while and chatting to some girls who were skipping to go shopping downtown, Duo strolled up to a random classroom door and opened it.

Poking his head in, he addressed the teacher with a disarming grin, waved his journalist pass in her face and looked around for a comfortable seat from where he could tease people.

To his surprise, Relena was sitting in this class. Even more surprising was that she grinned cheerfully at him. Intrigued, Duo pulled up a chair at the desk beside hers. And, as soon as the teacher was immersed in her lesson again, he scribbled 'What's up?' on the margin of his notes and tipped them so that Relena could read it.

Relena grinned evilly. Pretending to take notes on the novel the class was studying, she wrote something on a slip of paper.

Out of the corner of his eye, Duo could just read it: 'How's Hilde?'

Though he showed nothing but easy cheerfulness, inside Duo was rather rattled. Did Relena know he was in contact with Hilde? Or had she just guessed? Her evil grin seemed to imply that she had definite knowledge of something.

Casually, he wrote: 'Dunno. Why?'

'I know what hotel she's staying in. Don't you think I should tell Heero?' was the answer.

Thoroughly annoyed now (especially at Hilde, Relena couldn't possibly have this information from anybody else), he wrote back: 'Yeah, that's right, run to your boyfriend. What the hell do you want?'

When Relena saw what he had written, she grinned more widely than before. Just before the bell rang, she scribbled one word.

'Information.'

Then, before Duo had time to take this in, she quickly packed her school things together and left the classroom, tossing her loose honey-blond hair behind her.

Duo glowered after her. 'Evil,' he muttered to no one in particular, grabbed his notebook, and hurried after her. He could sense months of slavery coming up.

Footsteps were approaching. Catherine tightened her grip on her missile and tensed in readiness, trying to remember every martial arts move Trowa had ever taught her.

The clicking sounds from right outside the door confirmed that soon the moment of decision would come. Then, with a final click, the lock opened and the door was thrust open.

Concealed behind the door, Catherine waited until she saw a head appear. Then, gripping the chair with both hands, she swung it right at the uniformed, masked figure, which cried out but fell. Leaping over it, she came face to face with another person, who was reaching for his gun.

Holding the chair in front of her, she cannoned into him, terror giving her the momentum to topple him. Then, trying to block out the cries for help and alarm that came from the second figure, she sped out into the hallway.

Hesitating for half a second, her eyes flickered over the doors, the staircase at one end of the hall, and the big window at the other end. She knew she could not hope to actually escape the building itself right now; too many of the armed people had been alerted. Her plan had been to hide somewhere until it was safer – but where –

There was nowhere. As the awful realization pounded in her heart, as she saw two men in uniform hurrying up the stairs, her eyes were drawn to the window. She did not know where it opened onto – how far down it was – but a last, desperate idea came to her and she started racing towards it.

Some instinct told her when to swerve – and she sensed more than saw the bullets fly past her and shatter the window. She threw herself on the floor, got up again, and sprinted the last few meters to the window, which by now had a big, ragged hole in the middle of it. For one millisecond, she fought the inhibition holding her back – then she hurled herself through the hole and into the open air.

'What the hell do you mean, information?' Duo muttered. He had caught up with Relena and was now trying to appear inconspicuous by walking slightly behind her and talking out of the corner of his mouth.

Relena, however, had no such scruples. 'You Gundam pilots are too secretive for your own good. I want to know what's going on. And this time, the whole truth, not just a short summary.' She glared at him.

Duo swore quietly. 'There is a reason why we don't tell you everything, you know.'

Brushing over this, Relena went on. 'So, what are you doing right now? Have you found out where the gundanium alloy is yet?'

'No,' admitted Duo. 'We've got our ideas, but we're not getting a lot further at the moment.' Frustration rang in his voice.

After some more less-than-subtle blackmailing on Relena's part, he finally consented to explain it all to her – but not at the school.

'Fine,' Relena stated. 'Let's go visit Hilde and talk to her in private.'

Duo shook his head disbelievingly. 'You seem so innocent and harmless, but you are such a pain. What makes you think Heero would believe you?' he added slyly.

There was no weak point there. Relena smiled to herself. 'He would,' she said confidently. 'I know he would.'

Examining the far-off look in her eyes and her smile, Duo wondered. Obviously the completely non-emotional soldier had done something to raise Relena's hopes. But what?

'Ok, then let's go,' Duo sighed, making a mental note to check on Heero as soon as this business was done.

Quatre sighed. Duo could obviously never stay in one place for more than a few minutes. He had arranged to meet him here, next to Heero's locker, so the three of them could confer in peace and inconspicuously. However, there was no sign of either Duo or Heero.

Weariness over last night's unsuccessful exploration was written on Quatre's face. Not only that, he was also worried about Dorothy. Was the curly-haired girl right, and she was nearby, depending on his help? That would mean that he had failed her. But the message and the messenger were too fishy, Quatre knew he couldn't trust them.

Suddenly – talking of the devil, Quatre thought grimly – the girl with the hazel curls clutched his arm, her eyes and tone beseeching: 'You've got to come – she's here – the most awful thing has happened – I warned her – and she won't let me get help – I don't know what to do . . .' She broke down and started sobbing.

It took Quatre a moment to get over his surprise and take in all of it. Finally he firmly grasped her arm and spoke in a low tone: 'You mean Dorothy is here?'

She looked up, and her face was wet with very real tears. Quatre wavered. Either she was an extremely good actress or – or she was telling the truth.

'She's right outside the school,' the girl sobbed. 'I told her not to come – you have to help her!' She gazed up at him in complete desperation.

Returning her gaze, Quatre made his decision. Even if it was a trap – and somehow he didn't think so anymore – it would be better to get it over with than to continually have the thought that he had not come to Dorothy's aid in her gravest need eat him alive.

'Let's go then,' he instructed her briefly, and, with a smile of gratitude through her tears, she hurriedly led him away.

They made their way to a pair of side doors that opened out onto the grounds. The girl threw them open and hurried out to a figure leaning against the wall.

Quatre stared. It was Dorothy, made unmistakable by the sweep of her long blond hair, her arched eyebrows and glittering blue eyes. Though it seemed to him as though the eyes were flickering somehow, and when she spoke, her voice wasn't the one he remembered.

'Quatre,' she said breathlessly, 'I can't believe you're here.' Then, she gave a little gasp and slid to the ground.

Strangling a cry in his throat, Quatre raced over to her limp form and turned it over. Underneath the hand she had clamped to her side, her white blouse was stained a scarlet red.

A/N: Hallelujah, this chapter is actually finished! Again, very sorry it took so long. Usual excuses. Anyway, whoever might be reading my HP fic too, I am also going to continue with that one, unlikely though it may seem at the moment. Also, I've just noticed, this chapter is pretty short. But that was a nice cliffie way to end, right? So, let's forgive and forget, shall we?

Hm. Ok, you can do the forgiving and I'll do the forgetting, I'm good at that winks.

Thanks to certain faithful reviewers. If there were more people like you around, the world would be a better place! (Maybe. Don't quote me on that.)

ri-chan/san – thanks so much for all the reviews, it's really interesting to read how you go through the whole story! Oh, as anybody who knows me on ff can tell you, I take months to update. sighs I don't mean to, but it always happens . . . I'll always keep writing though, don't worry.

blingblingbabe – sorry about that . . . I've just always imagined those two together . . . and you have to admit, it fits into the plot. Thank god Heero is not OOC, though I don't know about this chappie, I hope it's ok!

Pink Sakura – thanx, I'm looking forward to hearing from you again!

yasuru01 – nice of you to review, again SORRY about the long delay!

Arabian Knight – don't worry, you're getting your place of honour at the end of the chapter this time! (Puppy-dog eyes? Who said anything about puppy-dog eyes? looks around innocently)

Ebacusta – well, the thing with Marisa is, sometimes you can trust her and sometimes you can't, so you never know. Which is good for the plot grins. Tekkan will be butchered, rest assured.

Wildkat137 – thanks, it's great to get a response like that from so many ppl!

Nichi-chan – yea, I definitely see what you mean. But as I'm hoping to bring this story to a close sometime soon, I don't know if it will fit in . . . but thanks for the idea!

perfect solder X24 – you're out of luck, I'm the queen of not updating for months! But I did try, honestly!

Oh, look, here's Arabian Knight walking down the red carpet of honour, everybody cheering and waving . . . Hm . . . she, on the other hand, has a murderous look in her eyes and is zeroing in on ME! Spare me! Of course I will admit that the story's excellence coughs is solely due to your wise critique! makes a run for it

Anyway, remaining yours,

Shooting Jewel


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